christina cole joins new horror film

[fenris]

It's getting increasingly harder for independent movies to get a cinema release, no matter how brief. And events this year make me suspect that the situation is only going to get worse.

To explain: the cinema-going year can be roughly split into four sections, governed by the type of movies that get released;
Post-Christmas and Spring: non-commercial studio movies and low-budget independent films.
Summer: wall-to-wall, over-hyped, hugely expensive studio blockbusters.
Autumn to early Winter: non-commercial studio movies and low-budget independent films (with a surge of horror flicks around Halloween time).
December: kiddie flicks and wannabe Oscar contenders.

However, this year we saw big-budget studio action movies such as Wolverine: X-Men Origins and Star Trek (both traditionally Summer movies) released in the early Spring, with the latter raking in an impressive amount at the box office. If the major studios start to think that they can release large-budgeted movies throughout the year and still make money, then it will mean that independent films will be forced out of cinemas even more.



Anyway, back to Doghouse. Veteran British genre journalist and critic M.J. Simpson has posted an extremely lengthy (six thousand words!!) and comprehensive review of the film on his website. Link below. Spoiler warning: Simpson describes the plot of the movie in detail.

www.mjsimpson.co.uk/reviews/doghouse.html

[orokiah]

Here's a fairly detailed synopsis for Surviving Evil, which gives some more information about Christina's character and her part in the movie - contains big spoilers:

The Writing Studio - Surviving Evil

[orokiah]

Saw Surviving Evil at the weekend. It was filmed on a shoestring, and it shows, but you forget about that as the story unfolds thanks to clever use of locations and an endearing bunch of central characters.

**Spoilers follow**

In the Making Of documentary that's included on the DVD, the producers make a big play of how the emphasis on the relationships between the characters makes Surviving Evil a different breed of horror film. The problem with this supposedly novel approach is that too often it slips from deepening the characters (likeable as they are) into soapy melodrama: particularly angry exes Rachel and Dex, Phoebe and Rachel's too twee for words conversation at the start, and later Seb imploring Phoebe to run away and save 'both of you' (referring to the fact she's carrying his child). It makes it seem as if there's a half-decent romcom hiding away in the middle of the horror, but good performances carry it through. It's nice to see Christina Cole in a modern, non-bitchy role, even if it's that of the damsel in distress, and I was impressed by South African actors Louise Barnes and Colin Moss; the charismatic Moss, playing the sardonic ladies' man Dex, gets most of the best lines as well as providing one of the film's jumpier moments.

Chill's prophetic knowledge of the Aswang and their nest adds an intriguing spiritual element and makes for a decent pay off at the climax, but feels a bit too convenient: serving mostly to make her provide all the exposition. The subplot of Joey's quest to locate long-forgotten gold, buried on the island by the Japanese, threatens to be more interesting than the creatures lurking around ready to eat everyone. And the horror is more efficiently done than especially scary - the scene in which a dead rubber baby lands on a hysterical Phoebe could have been pretty comical if not for Christina Cole, giving it her all. The real chills come in an impressively creepy ending, featuring Phoebe making an apparent escape from the island and the Aswang pursuing her.

Surviving Evil is by no means a classic, or all that original, but it's oddly enjoyable: all the more so since it was made in such a short space of time and on a limited budget. It's definitely worth a watch.

[fenris]

Saw Doghouse on DVD while at a friend's house last week. It's a very entertaining film, probably the best horror/comedy hybrid since Shaun of the Dead. Christina doesn't have a key role but she appears in quite a few scenes and makes the most of her time on screen, displaying some understated but wry attitude. Importantly, she's the only substantial female character we see pre-transformation, and there's a very brief moment of pathos involving her towards the film's climax.

The movie has been accused of being misogynist, and it's true that there are several scenes in which the male characters sneer or complain about the women in their lives, while Danny Dyer (again playing the type of role that he's built an entire career out of) whines about the entire female sex in general. Stephen Graham - portraying a recent divorcee - has a keynote speech at the end of the film in which he laments that men try to change and adapt to please their women, only for said women to subsequently become bored with the 'new men' that they've become. His bewildered plea - "If they didn't like how we were in the first place, why did they marry us?" - contains a genuinely heartfelt note amongst the frustration.
On the flip side, most of the movie's humour - and even some entire plot developments - is based on how oafish, stubborn, leery and immature men can be, so the film ultimately emerges as more balanced than you'd expect.

In addition to Christina, there are amusing cameos from ex-Emmerdale actress & tabloid regular Adele Silva, and former Doctor Who companion Mary Tamm. Mostly hidden under latex make-up, Emily Booth still has some nice moments as the scissor-welding 'Snipper', but unfortunately she often gets lost amongst the crowd of female zombies converging on the male heroes.

[orokiah]

Surviving Evil is receiving its UK premiere on Zone Horror at the end of the month. It's currently scheduled for 20th February at 10.55pm.

[orokiah]

Surviving Evil is being shown again tonight on Zone Horror at 9pm.

Incidentally, it seems Zone Horror is soon to revert to its former identity: Horror Channel.

[fenris]

Surviving Evil is being shown on Horror next Friday (23/07/10) at 21:00.

[fenris]

Surviving Evil is receiving another screening on Horror next Tuesday (03/08/10), at 21:00.

[orokiah]

Has anyone else had a chance to catch Surviving Evil yet? It's not the greatest film in the world, but the Phoebe-meets-baby-doll scene alone makes it a bit of a guilty pleasure.

[fenris]

Despite being a die-hard horror fan, I'm afraid Surviving Evil just doesn't appeal to me. The sub-genre in which groups of good-looking young people go to a remote tropical island or into a steamy jungle and get gradually whittled down by Something Nasty just leaves me cold (Backwoods Brutality movies do nothing for me either). Even Christina's presence can't tempt to watch Surviving Evil. If it wasn't for her involvement, this film would not have featured on my radar.

[orokiah]

Surviving Evil is getting another outing on the Horror Channel in the early hours of 09/12/10 (this Thursday), at 2.45am.

[fenris]

Surviving Evil is being shown on Horror this coming Saturday (11/06/11) at 21:00.

[fenris]

Surviving Evil is being shown on the Horror channel in the early hours of next Wednesday morning (21/09/11), at 00:55.

[orokiah]

Sept 15, 2011 0:26:27 GMT fenris said:

Surviving Evil is being shown on the Horror channel in the early hours of next Wednesday morning (21/09/11), at 00:55.

I saw the Surviving Evil DVD in Poundland the other week - didn't buy it though. I enjoyed the film, but it has limited rewatch value (the comedy rubber baby scene aside).

[fenris]

Surviving Evil is being shown on the Horror channel tonight (09/01/12) at 21:00.