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Tagged ‘Larry Fessenden‘

Movie Review: I Sell The Dead

I Sell The Dead

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Written and Directed By: Glenn McQuaid

Starring: Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden

Plot:

19th century justice has finally caught up to grave robbers Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) and Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden). With the specter of the guillotine looming over him, young Blake confides in visiting clergyman Father Duffy (Ron Perlman), recounting fifteen years of adventure in the resurrection trade. His tale leads from humble beginnings as a young boy stealing trinkets from corpses, to a partnership with seasoned ghoul Willie Grimes as they hunt creatures unwilling to accept their place in the ground. The colorful and peculiar history of Grimes and Blake is one filled with adventure, horror, and vicious rivalries that threaten to put all involved in the very graves they’re trying to pilfer.

Review:

The Horror/Comedy is a tough sell.  Most of the time, they end up stupid and unmemorable.  Occasionally a few gems appear such as Gremlins, Arachnophobia, and most recently Zombieland.  Arriving straight to DVD, though is another Comedic take on Horror with a Gothic twist, Glenn McQuaid‘s criminally underseen I Sell The Dead starring Dominic Monaghan.  With a clever balance of the comedic and macabre, strong acting, believable sets and costumes, and brilliant cinematography, I Sell The Dead is a gem worthy to be discovered.

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Movie Review: The Last Winter

last_winter_movie_poster

The Last Winter

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Directed By: Larry Fessenden

Starring: Ron Perlman, James LeGros, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford

Plot Synopsis:

Ron Perlman stars as Ed Pollack, an oil company employee who arrives in Alaska. He’s eager to take some of the tundra’s oil bounty, but the rising temperatures have an environmental scientist (James LeGros) worried about the irreparable damage they could do to the Alaskan wilderness. Soon things start to go wrong at their camp, and one of their one dies mysteriously. Whether it’s cabin fever, poisonous gas, or supernatural forces, something is threatening the camp and the people who live there. (Rottentomatoes.com)

Review:

The Last Winter is a slow burn, claustrophobic thriller set in the remote Alaskan wilderness.  It’s not a thrill-a-minute story, but one that unfolds in a logical yet unsettling way.  What makes The Last Winter work is not necessarily the effects or scares.  The character development is strong and the film makers rely on our relationship with the characters to build the story’s main tension.  Not many horror movies these days trust their audiences enough and burn through plot to get to the scares.  The Last Winter is a genuinly creepy tale, but is no crap-your-pants frightfest.

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