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Chattanooga Film Festival: Beaten to Death (2022)

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Directed by Sam Curtain, who co-wrote this with Benjamin Jung-Clarke, Beaten to Death starts with Jack (Thomas Roach) being brutalized by Ricky (Justan Wagner) as the body of his wife Rachel (Nicole Tudor) lies dead next to them. Barely alive, Jack stabs the man in the throat and stumbles out of the room. He runs into his neighbor Ned (David Tracy),, but that’s just the start of his torture.

That title should tell you everything, because Jack gets destroyed in this movie, which moves across multiple timelines and spends much of its time showing a blinded Jack wandering the Australian outback screaming, covered in blood and dirt and near death.

There’s long moments of a man in absolute pain just yelling alternating with moments of extreme violence and an ocular assault that awakened the dead body of Fulci who was probably either smiling or annoyed to be awoken from his slumber. You’re either going to love how audacious this is or hate that there’s this much endless gore. But hey — the cinematography is gorgeous and in no way does this movie do anything less than go hard and then somehow find a way to go even harder.

The Chattanooga Film Festival is happening now through June 29. To get your in-person or virtual badge to see any of these movies, click here. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Chattanooga Film Festival Red Eye #5: The Haunted (1991)

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Jack and Janet Smurl of West Pittston, PA say that a demon was in their house for nearly 15 years between 1974 and 1989, despite the denials of the Catholic Church, psychologists and scientific skeptics. Luckily, they had Ed and Lorraine Warren on their side, who encouraged their beliefs and even helped them write the book that this movie was based on.

Sally Kirkland was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her work in this movie as Janet Smurl. Jack is played by Jeffrey DeMunn, who you may know as Dale from TV’s The Walking Dead. Or if you’re like Becca and never watched that show, you’ll know him as the sheriff from the remake of The Blob.

Louise Latham from Marnie plays the grandmother and George D. Wallace — Commander Cody himself! — is the grandfather, who doesn’t believe any of this is happening but has a great part where he fends off the media on the porch with a rifle.

Joyce Van Patten — the domineering mom from Monkey Shines — shows up as a neighbor, with Stephen Markle and Diane Baker playing the Warrens, way before The Conjuring series of films (I kind of Lorraine also appeared on Road Rules: All-Stars before Hollywood truly came calling). Keep an eye out for the reporter who collapses on the Smurl’s front lawn — that’s Lorraine Warren.

The best part of this movie? The crazy way it visualizes the demonic presence as a black formless bit of nothing that has multiple voices. The funniest? There are numerous moments, but I kind of love that copyright issues meant that when the kids watch Lost In Space, they dubbed over the actor’s voices.

The Chattanooga Film Festival is happening now through June 29. To get your in-person or virtual badge to see any of these movies, click here. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Chattanooga Film Festival: Stag (2022)

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Directed and written by Alexandra Spieth, Stag is about Jenny (Mary Glen Fredrick) and her attempts to reconnect with her former best friend Mandy (Elizabeth Ramos) during a bachelorette party at a seemingly haunted campground.

What drove these friends apart? Why does Jenny have such difficulty connecting with anyone? Why are the religious beliefs of sisters Constance (Katie Wieland) and Casey (Stephanie Hogan) just so strange? Is this what it’s really like when women get together?

We can all feel for Jenny. Her only anchor in this unfamiliar territory is Mandy. There’s something unspoken that drove them in two directions yet there’s still some love between them. Yet as everyone else’s motivations are so unclear at best and malevolent at worst, it makes me glad that I skipped that bachelor party weekend I was supposed to go to last month.

What the film misses in proper lighting and color balance — the outside footage nearly washes out the movie at times — it makes up for it in writing and acting. A better budget would have done wonders, but let’s just forget that. Let’s concentrate on a movie that takes a great elevator speech — “What if Bridesmaids and Midsommer had mimosas?” — and delivers something special.

The Chattanooga Film Festival is happening now through June 29. To get your in-person or virtual badge to see any of these movies, click here. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Chattanooga Film Festival: The Once and Future Smash (2022)

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With appearances by Mark Patton (Nightmare on Elm Street 2), Laurene Landon (Maniac Cop), Richard Elfman (Forbidden Zone), Mark Torgl (Toxic Avenger), Melanie Kinnaman (Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning), V.C. DuPree (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan), Victor Miller (Friday the 13th), Marc Sheffler (Last House on the Left), Carl Solomon (Tropical Cop Tales), Adam Marcus (Jason Goes to Hell), Todd Farmer (Jason X), John Dugan (Texas Chain Saw Massacre), Bill Johnson (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Bob Elmore (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Lloyd Kaufman (my endless hatred), Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi (Troll 2), Tim Dry (Xtro) and Dan Yeager (Texas Chainsaw 3D), The Once and Future Smash tells the story of Mikey Smash (Michael St. Michaels, The Greasy Strangler) and William Mouth (Bill Weeden, Psycho Ape), the two actors who each played Smash-Mouth in the 1970 film End Zone 2. Only Michael has been credited and the two have fought at convention after convention ever since.

As they both attend the Mad Monster Party horror convention, they learn that a modern End Zone will be made and they can both audition. That movie will start one hour into End Zone 2 before it retcons everything that happened after.

It’s pretty amazing that a This Is Spinal Tap documentary comedy could be made about slasher movies but that’s because we understand the genre’s conventions. And, well, conventions. If you’ve spent any time doing that awkward walk past near-empty stars of the past and the hangers-on who attempt to be important by being in their orbit, this movie will more than ring true.

Directors Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein, who also brought the world Blood of the Triblades, Magentic and Ten really know what they’re doing. This was a blast.

You can learn more at the official Facebook page.

The Chattanooga Film Festival is happening now through June 29. To get your in-person or virtual badge to see any of these movies, click here. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Chattanooga Film Festival: End Zone 2 (1970)

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Whatever side you’re on when it comes to the controversy between whether Mikey Smash or William Mouth played Smash Mouth in the sequel to Warren Q. Harolds’ 1965 slasher End Zone, you can say quite simply that they’re both better than Snead Crump when it comes to menacing Angela Smazmoth (Julie Kane). Now that there’s a restored version of this never-released to the public slasher, well, now we can all fight that same fight all over again.

And hey — whatever happened to that final half hour of this movie? Have you seen it? Did you check it out when it played with The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and The Evil Eye?

Put together from six partial prints and a partial Italian internegative — that explains why the language changes — this is the film that didn’t just give birth to the American slasher, it also influenced movies like Let’s Scare Jessica to Death.

Shh…I like keeping up the premise that this is a lost movie, so don’t tell anyone that it works because it’s just as rough and ramshackle as those pre-78 slashers that we love so much like My Brother Has Bad Dreams and Scream Bloody Murder (which ironically nearly shared a title). I also think it’s kind of wild that in the same year we’ve had two double features based around slasher movies of the past based around football (this pairs with The Once and Future Smash; the other entry is The Third Saturday In October and The Third Saturday In October V).

The Chattanooga Film Festival is happening now through June 29. To get your in-person or virtual badge to see any of these movies, click here. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Chattanooga Film Fest: Bad Girl Boogey (2022)

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“One Halloween, blood was shed by the wearer of a parasitic mask cursed with black magic and bigotry. Sixteen years later, when Angel’s best friend is slaughtered by a killer with the same mask, they must overcome their personal struggles, fight their fear and find the masked killer before he — or it — slaughters everyone they hold dear.”

Twelve years ago, Angel (Lisa Fanto) lost a mother to the mask, which empowers whoever wears it with the hatred of everyone who has ever worn it.  Angel is struggling to deal with the last few days of high school, as she and her friends have identities that cause the world to hate, fear and reject them.

When the mask is found and the killings start all over again, Angel must find out who or what the masked killer is, then stop them before she loses any more of her found family.

Director and co-writer (with Ben Pahl Robinson) Alice Maio Mackay also made another movie that I really enjoyed, So Vam, and the goal with this movie was to “be even better.” Mackay is a 17-year-old transgender award-winning filmmaker based in South Australia and from the two films I’ve seen from her, she definitely has the talent to go beyond these already quite well-made movies.

Also, if you watch that trailer, you may notice the voice of Bill Moseley, which incredibly adds to the scare potential of this movie.

The Chattanooga Film Festival is happening now through June 29. To get your in-person or virtual badge to see any of these movies, click here. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MILL CREEK BLU RAY BOX SET: The Event – The Complete Series (2010-2011)

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Nick Wauters wrote for shows like The 4400 and Medium before he created this show, which begins at the end of World War II. A UAP crashes in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska, filled with humanoid aliens whose DNA is 99% human but who age much slower than Earth people. Ninety-seven of them are kept in Mount Inostranka by the U.S. government while the Sleepers are aliens that escaped the landing and have become part of society.

When he assumes his office, U.S. President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood) releases the imprisoned survivors and reveals their existence to the world. That is, he would have if someone didn’t try to assassinate him. Now, the CIA unleashes a plan to hunt down the Sleepers, except the director in charge is an alien.

Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) gets involved when his girlfriend Leila Buchanan (Sarah Roemer) gets kidnapped while they are on vacation as she’s the daughter of one of the aliens.

For the first part of the show, it was told by flashback to three different timelines, while many of the characters had Twitter accounts and there was a blog — truthseeker5314.com — that revealed plot points. This was all too confusing to viewers, so the second half of the episodes was a traditional narrative.

As engaging as the show is, it started with big ratings and then lost them midway through its run. The hiatus — November to February — only caused viewers to forget about the show and it was gone — after some huge hype — after one season.

You can still celebrate what could have been by rewatching the episodes. There’s a good cast, including Laura Innes as the leader of the aliens, Ian Dale as an alien CIA agent, Hal Holbrook as a businessman covering up the aliens, Clea DuVall as a killer ET and D.B. Sweeney as an assassin.

The show felt like Lost, which just ended the same season. Maybe audiences were tired of a show that kept so many secrets. Regardless, I liked the show.

The Mill Creek blu ray box set release of The Event includes making of features, an alternate story for Dr. Dempsey, deleted scenes, episodes commentaries with cast, crew and creators, podcasts, photo galleries and more. You can get it from Deep Discount.

RADIANCE BLU RAY RELEASE: Red Sun (1970)

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Thomas (Marquard Bohm) gets a ride to Munich where he finds his ex-girlfriend Peggy (counterculture icon and model Uschi Obermaier) who takes him in. In her flat he finds Peggy and her roommates have a commune-like lifestyle where they take a male lover and murder them within five days so that they never fall in love. Does Thomas realize that in time?

Directed by Rudolf Thome and written by Max Zihlmann, the girls all seem rather nice, you know, other than the fact that they murder men. They all seem to genuinely like Thomas, but when you have a manifesto, you have to follow it or it’s not a manifesto.

This is definitely more style than substance but that’s not a complaint. Plus. the soundtrack has the Small Faces and The Nice on it, as well as “Adagio in G Minor” by Remo Giazotto, which also shows up in Rollerball and Space: 1999.

Obermaier is a dream and has a presence that you wish showed up in more than just that handful of movies that she was in. Her flatmates are played by Diana Körner, who was memorable in a small role in Barry Lyndon, Sylvia Kekulé and Gaby Go.

I really have no idea what category this is, but whatever it is, I want more.

This limited edition Radiance Films blu ray includes a high definition digital transfer overseen by director Rudolf Thome; select scene commentary with Thome and Rainer Langhans, Obermaier’s boyfriend and Kommune 1 member who served as inspiration for the film and was on set for the shoot; Rote Sonne between Pop Sensibility and Social Critique, a newly produced visual essay by scholar Johannes von Moltke on Red Sun which looks at the social and cultural influences on the film and provides context for the era in which it was made; From Oberhausen to the Fall of the Wall, a visual essay by academic and programmer Margaret Deriaz tracing the development of the New German Cinema from the Oberhausen Manifesto to the fall of the Berlin wall; a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters; a limited edition 52-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Samm Deighan; newly translated archival letters by Wim Wenders, critic Enno Patalas and the German Film Evaluation Office on the film’s official submission; a newly translated archival interview with Rudolf Thome and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings. You can get it from MVD.

MILL CREEK STEELBOX RELEASE: Miami Vice (2006)

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Michael Mann was an executive producer on the original Miami Vice, so it makes sense that he returned to direct, write and co=produce this reimagined movie.

Starring Colin Farrell as James “Sonny” Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs, this film was inspired by Foxx discussing the show with Mann at a party for the movie Ali. Mann would go a bit wild on this one, leading crew members to say that he made sudden script changes, filmed in unsafe weather conditions (the film was delayed by three hurricanes) and filming in places that “even the police avoid, drafting gang members to work as security.”

Since making the movie, Mann thinks of it as one of the ones that got away, because after guns were fired near the Paraguay location, Fox went home. The production than couldn’t afford to go back, so the compromised ending just doesn’t work for Mann. He said, “I don’t know how I feel about it. I know the ambition behind it, but it didn’t fulfill that ambition for me because we couldn’t shoot the real ending.”

It’s also a wild movie because where the series was fashion and pastel colors — and this still has fashion, of course — this film is just darkness. Drug informants’ wives get their heads blown off with C4 necklaces. Said informant walks in the way of a truck. And the movie moves past Florida to drug hot spots and involves Sonny in a doomed relationship with Isabella (Gong Li), the financial wizard and lover of Arcángel de Jesús Montoya (Luis Tosar).

I’ve had this conversation before, but if this was called something other than Miami Vice, people would have loved every moment of it. When that name came out, people immediately thought of the theme song and the past versus allowing this digitally shot piece of style to succeed on its own.

That said, we now live in a reality where you can watch it again and again without ever needing to associate it with anything else.

The Mill Creek steelbox of Miami Vice is exclusively available from WalMart. Extras include behind the scenes features and commentary by Michael Mann.

Junesploitation: Ip Man (2008)

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June 27: Junesploitation’s topic of the day — as suggested by F This Movie— is Sammo Hung! We’re excited to tackle a different genre every day, so check back and see what’s next.

The martial arts choreography for Ip Man comes from Sammo Hung and Tony Leung Siu-hung. Hung had previously collaborated with Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen when he acted with them in SPL: Sha Po Lang. Hung was the perfect person to be the choreographer for this because he’d already worked on two other Wing Chun movies, Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son.

But Donnie Yen had the roughest challenge, as he spent months preparing to play Ip Man by doing intense Wing Chun training and only eating once a day. His goal was to show the special skills of the martial art and play Ip Man as a cultured man.

He lives in Foshan, which was a central part of Southern Chinese martial arts, a place where the many schools of combat would compete in often secret matches. One of those matches, Ip Man against Liu (Chen Zhihui), gets publicized by a young boy named Yuan (Wong You-nam). But the fights stop when the Second Sino-Japanese War begins.

Ip and his family are forced to leave their mansion and move into a small apartment, as the Imperial Japanese Army has taken their home to use as a military headquarters. All Ip can do for work is to toil in a mine, where he meets Yuan’s brother Lin (Xing Yu) and becomes his friend. But not for long, as when the Japanese General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) challenges any miner to a fight — for a bag of rice — he kills Lin.

Things have gotten so bad that even Liu has taken to stealing rice, which ends up with him shot in the head. Miura’s karatekas are destroying the Chinese kung fu experts, so Ip Man demands to fight ten at once and easily defeats them. He must also stop Jin Shanzhao (Fan Siu-wong) and his gang from bothering the town. Once he learns that Yuan is in the gang, he takes steps to save his friend’s brother.

Miura asks Ip to train the Japanese soldiers, but Ip refuses and challenges the Japanese soldier to a match. Miura accepts the challenge to uphold his honor and crush the Chinese spirit. One of the other Japanese soldiers, Sato (Tenma Shibuya), promises to kill Ip if he wins.

As Ip Man became Bruce Lee’s martial arts master, you can guess the end of the movie. But getting there is incredible, as Hung’s fights are incredible. The closing fight is an amazing dance of violence and as the Chinese swarm their Japanese enemies, Ip Man and his family run through the chaos and into, well, four more movies.