Tag: Independent Film

With (S)KiDs, It’s Not Just But Still Rock and Roll to Me

The beauty with independent animated works is that they don’t have to play by the rules. For (S)KiDs, the creators must make sure the message is heard, not just blasted.

(s)kids movie posterAvailable to stream on YouTube (free, see below)

The year (S)KiDs take place in may seem unusual, but it feels appropriate to show what teenage life was like back in the early 90s. In a nutshell, I can’t help but think this film is Smells Like Teen Spirit meets The Breakfast Club. This song released by Nirvana in 1991 is more than age-old to reflect upon what this film is about.

Here, this animated film looks at the life of Scotty (James Priestner), a self prescribed punk poet who finds life in a new town difficult. Although he finds a few friends, others soon label them skids, not typical outcasts. Although this derogatory term is not in vogue these days, to escape that label is tough. Molly (Michele Garceau), Billy (Will Letos), and Craig (Les Solis, who also directed this film) are fairly chill, but the fact they all have demons is more telling as the film progresses through their final year at St. Elmo’s High School.

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[Interview] Catching Up With Chad Ferrin. From H.P. Lovecraft’s The Deep Ones to Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, What’s Next?

Beyond the Wall of Sleep is more than a tribute to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Although it’s meant to be a sequel to another tale, Chad Ferrin massaged what he got into a quirky fun tale about the (coming) end of days.

Chad Ferring FilmmakerAvailable to stream on Apple TV and Amazon

From a simple film thrown together last minute to becoming a trilogy to honour the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Chad Ferrin doesn’t need that long of a re-introduction. When I spoke to him about his first work, The Deep Ones, (interview link) the ideas for a modern age retelling of several tales have its charm. And he wasted no time in working on a direct sequel for the first.

But for the third, it’s a completely different beast, and I had to chat with him again about how that came to be:

When compared to where you were in the past with making The Deep Ones to now, with Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, where do you think you are as a filmmaker?

Well, it was originally going to be a sequel to my first film, Unspeakable. Roger Garcia initially came to me and said he wanted to do a sequel to that. He said he has an investor who is up for it, and when he didn’t like the draft, I turned it into a H.P. Lovecraft movie because I know that there’s always a demand for that. I intertwined the characters from that first movie into this new one, and it just kind of flowed. Susan Priver helped find another investor, and before we knew it, we began shooting.

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A Knight’s War Never Ends When A Soul Needs To Be Saved!

What makes A Knight’s War feel real is what each soldier must overcome on a spiritual level. But when there’s real evil afoot, is rescuing a fair maiden enough?

A Knight's War Movie PosterNow Playing At Select Theatres and VOD

Chivalry is not dead in Matthew Ninaber’s movie, A Knight’s War. When not everyone lives by that code, I wonder how Bhodie (Jeremy Ninaber) is going to survive. He’s off to save not a princess, but a woman said to reshape the world.

When Avalon’s (Kristen Kaster) morals are not up to the code, just what she represents has everyone quaking in their boots. Even the soldier has his own problems. Although she’s no lovely lady-in-waiting, she has a fire I like. He’s trying his best to show her “how to be nice,” and thankfully what’s presented isn’t like in Shrek. Instead, it concerns how she can be tamed than trained. She’s certainly a spitfire, and Kaster is great at showing it.

When the new gods fear what she can represent because she has red hair, that’s because they are concerned about an age-old  prophecy which will spell doom for them. And so, they have “whispered to the hearts of men is to burn any child matching the terms of the words uttered.”

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When Dallas King’s Indie film Swap (2024) Aims to Change the Rules of Vampirism….

When some vampires want something from humans, offering a Swap won’t come easy. Or can human conviction win when locked up in a pleasure palace?

Swap Movie PosterRad (James Eastwood) is a person with high morals. When he and his beautiful girlfriend get invited to a château located away from the City of Angels, little does he know the next two days may well be out of Rocky Horror! That’s because Janet, er Kayla’s bestie (Jessica Lelia Greene) asked this couple over for an evening they’ll never forget. Glory (Erin Anne Gray) says it’s okay; she was never pure even when the two met and he knew. And their night is debauchery as its most Greco-Roman. I was curious because vampires are involved!

But even in Anne Rice’s world, what’s presented suggests these creatures of the night have to find willing participants. This film by Dallas King feels like a work in progress, as not everything is fleshed out. The only one good constant is where the unwilling hero struggles with whether he should accept a deal with the devil, and that’s to trade partners and become of their kind. There’s no FX to enhance the terror and I hoped for some moments of some classic vampirism and got none.

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Unboxing Two Wild Eye(s)- Kung Fu Rascals and Despiser on Home Video!

Wild Eye Releasing’s Visual Vengence is knocking it out of the park with blu-ray editions of fond classics from the 80s and 90s, and we got an unboxing video showing what to expect from their latest.

Kung Fu Rascals and Despiser Unboxing VideoThere’s been a lot of treats that Otaku no Culture has been looking at this month! Not only do we have a ton of terrific material to get caught up on from online (streaming or otherwise), but also there are books and home video releases we’re very excited to go through! One such offering is from Visual Vengeance, a subsidiary of Wild Eye Releasing, that we’re going to unbox, and will offer a more detailed write-up when the Halloween season is over (along with some reviews of series as a whole rather than separate episodes).

Kung Fu Rascals and Despiser (Amazon links) are works meant to be enjoyed as simple popcorn entertainment back when they first released. As Steve Wang pointed out (my interview with him can be read here), his film was his first foray into directing, and admitted there were problems. Despite some flaws, it’s a work to be appreciated because it helped show to Hollywood what he was capable of.

As for other works in this distributor’s catalog, one can find other movies were their final film school project, or perhaps something else. Some were attempts to test the waters of some genre, others designed for fun, and the rest–it’s like a roulette wheel: one can never be too sure if it’d be a wild success or not. Whatever the case, this label has a commitment to revive these works to show that it’s possible to love these lowbrow works for what they are. 

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How Little Lucha and the Big Deal Faces Their Future is Hilarious!

Just what can we expect from Little Lucha and the Big Deal is that they have a lot of unload as they examine their lives in the world of sports entertainment.

Little Lucha and the Big Deal Faces
Playing at the Regal Cinema LA LIVE; 1000 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015

LA SHORTS INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL 2024
July 25, 2024 @ 5:30pm

Little Lucha and the Big Deal has an amazing Canadian connection, and the song used is quite apt. Gordon Lightfoot‘s “If You Could Read My Mind” hits home to explain why one female wrestler doesn’t believe she’s on top of her game. This cover by Phoenix & The Dream still hits home regarding why this protagonist, known as The Big Deal (Scarlet Moreno), doesn’t feel on top of her game anymore.

In the world of wrestling, especially in Lucha Libre, the theatrics are important. Some wear masks to hide who they are, and others don’t. Sometimes what isn’t visible (especially when a disguise is used) is the emotional toll these athletes face; and what’s explored in this short film that also considers the problems wrestling has. Sometimes there’s gender politics, and who is allowed to have top billing in a show. Big Deal has a lot to grieve about. And to dump her feeling on her partner, Little Lutcha (Josh Stifter) makes for some hilarious dramatic moments.

When this tale is set in the early 80s, I’m reminded of those “back when I was young” segments on NBC’s comedy series, Young Rock. We get to view wrestling as it was intended and learn about why these people continue to fight for the entertainment of others. With this presentation, I feel very meditative about why I love those past talents like The Big Show, Hulk Hogan and Sgt Slaughter.

I enjoyed that era because wrestling was on a small stage and had fewer theatrics. As this sport turned into more of a soap opera and had to be larger than life, some people continue to watch and others stop.Moreno and Stifter want to honour what we recognise from the vintage era and I feel what they brought to life by writing and directing this work too says everything about their love for this sports entertainment medium–and that’s to pump out the adrenaline!

4 Stars out of 5

Little Lucha and the Big Deal Trailer