BONEHILL ROAD

BONEHILL ROAD (2017)

Directed by Todd Sheets

Written by Todd Sheets

Starring Eli DeGeer, Ana Rojas-Plumberg, Douglas Epps, Gary Kent, Millie Milan, Dilynn Fawn Harvey, Linnea Quigley

From IMDb:

"Emily and Eden Stevens escape one violent situation only to dive headfirst into another. Terrified and alone they are stranded in the dark woods only to be chased into a horrific scene in a house of horrors. They must work together to get out alive. But what is worse? What is on the inside or out?" 

Seemed appropriate to hold this one off until Werewolf Wednesday because we have another low (okay, micro) budget, indie horror, crowdfunded werewolf film to check out with the new Todd Sheets flick, BONEHILL ROAD.

Naturally what got my attention, aside from werewolves, of course, was the plan to do it with all practical effects and not CGI so I managed to pony up a little cash for the cause myself.

As I've said before, when looking at movies made at this level, you have to use a different scale. Even the low-budget WOLFCOP was made for around a million dollars. BONEHILL ROAD was done for around fourteen thousand. My hat's off to anyone trying to make any full-length film for that kind of money, and when you add in the idea of full werewolf suits and practical effects...insane. But these guys did it.

Like the IMDb synopsis states, Emily and daughter Eden Stevens leave an abusive home with the intention of getting to Emily's dad's place and regroup from there to figure out their situation. Unfortunately, their route takes them down Bonehill Road. After a minor accident turns into a full-scale werewolf attack, they take refuge in a seemingly abandoned house and, well, the phrase "Out of the frying pan, into the fire" comes to mind.

What follows is a pretty harrowing situation for the two as they find themselves trapped by a psycho in the house while the werewolves toy with them outside, keeping them trapped.

It's a rough ride for the two, and the movie's success hinges as much on the performances of Eli DeGeer and Ana Rojas-Plumberg as Emily and Eden as it does on the werewolves. The two do a good job and work well together as mother and daughter and you want them to get away. That's something that comes as a relief to me because too many movies these days have characters that quite frankly I couldn't give two figs about. My favorite Scream Queen Linnea Quigley is also on hand in something of an extended cameo that's one of her better acting jobs. 

The werewolf and gore effects are also pretty good. The werewolves all have a distinct look, so it's not like they did one mold and made copies. You can recognize the different beasts. Some shots are easily the equal to (or better) than the stuff I've seen in more expensive films. They even take a stab at a full-on transformation which mostly works out pretty well.

Full-on, practical werewolves, blood-n-gore, even a bit of nudity. Basically everything one could want in a movie like this. If you're okay with the obvious limitations imposed by the budget, I'd say give this one a chance.

Bonus: I also really dig the haunting "Bad Moon Rising" cover used in the movie -

IT

IT (2017)

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman

Based on the novel by Stephen King

Starring Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hamilton

 

From IMDb:

"A group of bullied kids band together when a shapeshifting monster, taking the appearance of a clown, begins hunting children."

 

Okay, so I finally caught the recent big-screen adaption of Stephen King's IT. It's been quite awhile since I've read the book or seen the original TV version (all hail Tim Curry!) so I wasn't too stuck on stuff like "that's not what happened!" and all that.

 

First off - the cast did great. A movie like this, focusing on kids, really needs the right kids in the roles to pull it off and they put together a fine group for this one. Kind-of have to feel for Finn Wolfhard, tho. Between this and STRANGER THINGS, the poor guy seems to be stuck in the 80s no matter what he does.

 

Yep, it's another 'set in the 80s' thing. In this case, it's because the original story was told in two parts - the characters facing down It when they were kids, then being drawn together again as adults for another go 'round. This movie is simply the first half, with the kids realizing what is really happening in their sleepy little town of Derry and fighting back. Luckily, part two has already been announced so we'll see how that turns out in a year or so, I guess.

 

The original was written in the 80s, with the flashback section happening in the 50s. This version time-shifts events so the kids are dealing with It in the 80s and the next version can be set somewhat currently. 

 

For an 80s set piece, tho, it (or should that be, 'IT'?) really doesn't beat you over the head with 80s references. In fact, some of it still comes across like it could be the 50s. I'm not sure making paper boats to float down the street was still a huge thing by the 80s and Bill's bike, Silver' (and the fact that he still calls it Silver and recites the Lone Ranger's "Hi yo, Silver! Away!") seems like it came straight from the 50s.

The best parts of the movie were when it dealt with the kids just navigating their world - the initial 'Losers Club' of bullied nerds slowly expanding to include the others, including apparently the only black kid in town, and a girl that of course two of the boys end up pining for.

When they're apart and having their own experiences with the evil clown monster, Pennywise, things just kind-of happen and it seems almost at random. There's not a lot of actual tension, and of course way too much 'Look what we can do with CGI!' going on. The kids' encounters with the truly psychotic town bully are scarier and seems to be a bigger threat most of the time. He does seem to do more real damage to the kids than Pennywise ever does (well, except for little Georgie at the beginning - yikes).

It was pretty decent, helped largely by the cast. I liked it well enough that I didn't mind spending the time or money to watch it, but I didn't think IT was anything special. Did make me want to re-read the book or at least re-watch the original version if I can track down the time.

ATHENA VOLTAIRE: PULP TALES

New book in the ArcLight library:

I think I've rambled about liking pulp heroes at some point - growing up digging out every Doc Savage book I could find in the various used-book stores I've come across, spending weekends rewatching the Indiana Jones films (along with THE PHANTOM, THE SHADOW, THE ROCKETEER, etc.), that sort of thing.

Added to that mix of daring heroes of the 1930s and thereabouts is Athena Voltaire. Who is she? From a Westfield Comics interview with writer/artist Steve Bryant:

"Athena Voltaire is a 1930s pilot/adventurer. She’s the daughter of a stage magician, so growing up on tour with her family, and traveling with other magicians, circuses, and air shows helped her to develop her unique skill set. She’s the pilot who everyone calls when they want to get into—and out of—dangerous places."

Those dangerous places are often inhabited by gangsters, zombies, vampires, Nazis, and assorted other monsters. Also the occasional run-in with major historical figures of the times. Fun stuff.

Started as a webcomic (co-written with Paul Daly), Bryant has shepherded Athena from the web to print comics, including a new upcoming series from Action Lab Entertainment, and now to a prose volume also from Action Lab consisting of close to twenty tales of derring-do by a variety of writers, each story illustrated with a piece by Bryant.

I've only just started reading it so I can't get in to which stories I like best. I'll guess that Bryant's own tale will be up there, of course, and I expect good things from Ron Fortier's entry (among other things he's written stories for The Phantom and The Spider for Moonstone Books' recent anthologies of those characters and the Green Hornet revival from NOW comics in the early 90s *and* currently heads up Airship 27 Productions which puts out many cool pulp-inspired projects featuring heroes new and "classic," so yeah, I think he knows his stuff). Other authors in the Chris Murrin edited volume include Elizabeth Amber Love, Tom King, Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman, Genevieve Pearson, Dirk Manning and more.

Currently available from all the major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target, if you've got the slightest interest in the likes of Indiana Jones, Lara 'Tomb Raider' Croft, the Uncharted games series, and naturally the pulps that started it all, I'd definitely reccommend you making the acquaintance of Athena Voltaire.