Jennfier's Body Review

Jennifer's Body, 2009
Reviewed by: Dan S.
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Written by: Diablo Cody
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Megan Fox
Language: English

Utilizing bright warm colors, occasional surreal imagery, and smooth camera work, director Karyn Kusama creates an ironic dreamy atmosphere for this cruel high school horror/comedy. Screen writer Diablo Cody uses deadpan humor and macabre supernatural elements to craft an ultimately tragic exploration of the intriguing, complex relationship between two adolescent girls. While the story itself is straighforward, there are some interesting themes to be found. The effects are minimal but convincing, a subtle mix of make up and CGI for reptilian eye and mouth morphing. The violence is stylized and usually off screen, the camera often lingering on the gory aftermath instead. Nudity is teased but never shown, and the film's most carefully staged erotic moment is as suspenseful as it is alluring. Theodore Shaprio and Stephen Barton`s heavy metal guitar-driven score is sometimes distracting, however the memorable main motif is a cool mood-setting throwback to 80s slashers.

Much of the comedy comes from the dumb but amusing teen dialogue, but there is also a great deal of twisted, pitch-black gallows humor. The horror of the film generates more uneases than creeps, but surprisingly, it's the melodrama and superb acting that make this one so worth while. All of the main characters are sympathetic and the spacious but impactful death scenes carry a surprising amount of weight uncommon to the genre. As the conflicted and heart broken lead, Amanda Seyfried conveys much of her emotional arc with her huge expressive eyes. As the title character, Megan Fox's dark sex appeal and effortless charisma are naturally iconic, but it's her ability to hint at repressed vulnerability that elevates her above your average evil babe. Veteran character actor JK Simmons draws a chuckle with every modest screen time as a clueless but well meaning teacher.

Rating:

LET ME IN trailer

Street Trash Review

STREET TRASH, 1987

Directed by: J. Micheal Muro

Written by: Roy Frumkes

Starring: Mike Lackey, Vic Noto, Bill Chepil, Marc Sferrazza, Jane Arakawa, Nicole Potter, Pat Ryan Jr., Clarenze Jarmon, Bernard Perlman, Miriam Zucker, M. D'Jango Krunch, James Lorinz, Julian Davis

"Things in New York are about to go down the toilet..."

A liquor store owner decides to sell a case of cheap wine, ("Tenafly Viper") that he finds in a hole in the wall of his building. The stuff is decades old and way past its sell date. Of course, he does what any responsible businessman would and sells it cheap to the local vagrant population. The few  unlucky enough to drink the stuff disolve into a mess of primary-colored goo.  All the while, a crazy Vietnam vet and self-styled king of the hobos reigns over the local junkyard, murdering his subjects at will with his sharpened femur-bone knife.

Throw in a few subplots about a psychotic cop, a local mob boss's doorman, and the kind-hearted junkyard secretary and you've got a giant mess that is still somehow endlessly watchable. For every bad actor, cheap looking set, and horribly delivered piece of dialogue, you've got a ton of amazingly fascinating crazy going on here.

And if the gut-churning scenes of melting hobos and genuinely funny (if oftentimes awkward) social commentary weren't enough, you get the most horrific game of keep away in movie history.  I won't ruin it for you here as it's truly something you need to experience. If you like your trash   cinema with huge doses of humor and plenty of gore, you really can't go wrong with this one. 

It's a cruel movie full of cruel characters, and there are several scenes that seem over the top and unnecessarily violent, but that's kind of the point.  If you go in ready to take STREET TRASH seriously, you'll be in for a huge disappointment.  Just remember, you're supposed to feel like you need a shower after watching this thing.

REASONS TO WATCH: Melting hobos, gratuitous violence, genital mutilation played for laughs. 

BEWARE: This movie contains plenty of melting hobos, gratuitous violence, and genital mutilation.

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