Chillerama (2011)

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

GENRE: ANTHOLOGY
SOURCE: BLU-RAY (OWN COLLECTION)

At long last, Chillerama has hit Blu-ray and DVD (plus VOD), well over a year after the first segment premiered at Frightfest. The anthology film features segments by Adam Green (Hatchet), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), Adam Rifkin (Look), and Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs), bookended by what people are most interested in seeing: the newest credit sequences by Brian W. Collins (Hatchet II, A Horrible Way To Die).

As always, his end titles do not disappoint. As there are four separate films plus generalized “all movie” credits, the end title sequence employs no less than five unique fonts, each carefully chosen to reflect the style of its respective film. So for Lynch’s “Zombies meets Amblin” style segment Zom-B-Movie, the credits are actually in the same font as Gremlins, and for Green’s Universal Monster inspired The Diary Of Anne Frankenstein, the font has a 40s poster feel to it. It is, undoubtedly, the greatest multi-font credits sequence of all time, even with a few typos (“A” camera operator is missing a space, and there’s a weird graphic issue around the Lit Post logo near the end of the 7-8 minute sequence).

Now, your eyes might be drawn to the clips that accompany each short’s credits sequence, which play on the opposite side of the frame as the credits scroll by (at varying speeds, depending on the length of the video I guess), but I urge you to keep a close eye on the several hundred names that race or crawl by. Lots of folks put a lot of hard work into the film, and they deserve recognition – particularly those who worked on multiple segments, such as Josh Ethier, who is credited for nearly every segment in a variety of crew roles. Ditto Robert Pendergraft/Aunt Dolly’s Garage, who contributed FX for all but one segment (Wadzilla, which has Chiodo Bros FX). It will be a real treat for fans to see their names on-screen over and over, but in different fonts every single time!

Collins fans will also be delighted to see the film’s opening animated segment, which he also did himself. While it’s too short, and the stars don’t always match up with the movement of the trees and tombstones, it really sets the tone for the movie that follows (aided considerably by Bear McCreary’s theme music). I also dig how it transitions from the Ariescope logo to the animation – very Spielbergian! Wish he had a few more tombstones in there though – you can see that they’re all recycled as the “camera” makes its way through the rows and up the hill to the final grave site, which transitions to the live-action portion of the film.

Obviously these elements look much better on Blu-ray, where you can also enjoy a full commentary by the four filmmakers, deleted scenes, some making of material, and other goodies, but the DVD looks great as well. I definitely would NOT recommend downloading the movie on the internet, however – the end credits are often clipped or missing entirely! Who the hell wants to watch something like that? Both are available tomorrow (11/29), and I highly recommend you buy one for yourself, as well as for all of the font enthusiasts in your life – don’t forget Christmas is coming!

Also, the movie itself is quite fun. I like that one zombie with the tan coat especially.

What say you?

NOTE – obviously this is a joke review. Image sent it to me to review even though I told them that I worked on it and thus would most certainly NOT be writing up a review. So I figured I’d goof off and present my standard “Hey this movie my friends made is now on DVD” post in a more fun way. Also - my contest is still running! First one to find me OUT OF MAKEUP in the film should send along a screenshot (along with proof that you're watching on a legal format)and you will win a prize! Someone has found me! Grats to Michael Gomez (and Brian Matherly) for having a damn good eye!

12 comments:

  1. lol... This looks like Trash! :D

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  2. Why can't I watch the trailer in the UK?

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  3. Dear BC,

    Instead of taking a much needed nap in between cramming for my upcoming Russian and Literature finals, I keep finding myself watching some random fucking horror movie I discovered while compulsively reading your blog. I don't know if it's the sarcasm, insight, genuine love of cinema, or innovative cursing, but your blog is literally like crack to me. I just wanted to let you know that I blame my shitty future GPA on its somehow wildly addicting nature. Hahaha. Keep writing amazing reviews!

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  4. Also (A) I realize this review was sarcastic and (B) I cannot wait to see this movie.

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  5. Its on Netflix Instant as well.

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  6. I had the opportunity to see this at a HorrorHound Weekend a couple weeks ago, but decided to leave instead as the crowd was awful. But I regret it now, wishing I could have seen those fonts (5? wow!) on a big screen. I look forward to this on the blu-ray though!

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  7. We need a collins con

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  8. Streamed it from Netflix and enjoyed the hell out of it. There was a weird problem with the audio. Every few minutes the audio would blink out requiring me to either rewind or pause and then restart it to get the audio to come back. Weird! But, once I figured out the trick it wasn't too much of a hassle.

    The sheer audacity of Wadzilla puts this in classic territory. The bathroom segment was a riot. I loved the jizz-kiss gag at the end. "Oh, What the hell?!" I loved the practical effects and really enjoyed the rubber sperm prop animated by noting more than the actual struggle. That was much better than the terrible CGI. Shoddy practical effects>shoddy CGI.

    The were-bear segment was not really to my liking. Sure, the gay theme was a little cringe-inducing to this hetero, but really I thought the songs were it's downfall. Not a memorable one in the lot. A fact further buttressed by the fact that the lead guy couldn't sing. Oh well, I guess he was pretty sexy, if you're into that. The head explosion was pretty good and the dick impalement was fun.

    Adam Greens segment was brilliant!!! The mash-up was as exciting as it was irreverent. Moore was better than expected as a goofball Hitler. Loved the pseudo-German! Loved Hodder as the creature.

    The poo segment had me worried. Throughout the film I was wondering who was responsible for the wrap-around, so when the poo segment came on I was pretty scared that I was going to have to endure shit on parade for a whole 20 minutes. I was all ready to be very disappointed in Lynch's contribution when the joke ended and I realized that the wrap-around was the fourth segment. Relief! Awesome! The sex-crazed zombie apocalypse was so much fun to watch. So many great sight gags. So bloody. Fun characters too. Mr. Lynch really outdid himself.

    The real standout was obviously Mr. Collins boundary bursting credits turn. Spellbinding! Face Melting! Serif Scintillating! More, please!

    Question for BC. Do you know if this film was successful enough to warrant a sequel? I love me some quality horror anthologies.

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  9. Last I heard it was in the planning stages, no green light yet.

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  10. So now that the contest is over, where can B.C. be seen in this movie?

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    1. I'm in the New Bev scene at the end, asleep. You can see me on the left side of the screen behind Kane Hodder.

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    2. Sweet. I'll be sure to watch for ya. Speaking of Kane Hodder, my partner at my recording studio had a very interesting tale about a girl he knows getting stuck in Kane's hotel room after some convention here in Cleveland. I'm not sure the details, and I guess it all turned out to be a big misunderstanding, but he thought Kane was holding the girl against her will based on a text message she sent him. He laughed as he remembered thinking, "Man, I'm gonna have to take on JASON himself to save this chick! FUUUCCCKKKK!!!" Apparently, Kane and the girl are friends now and hang out whenever he is in town.

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