Chillerama (2011)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Blu Ray Release: November 29, 2011
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
How far should a film go when it wants to pay homage to a certain film or genre of films? I kept asking myself this question while watching the overlong and over the top anthology horror-comedy Chillerama. Chillerama makes a Lloyd Kaufman Troma film look subtle and smart. It is so over the top and completely ludicrous, trying so hard to capture the feel of 1950's and 60's horror films but yet filled with gross out gags and fart jokes.
The opening starts off in black and white as this intoxicated man digs up his dead wife, babbling about how she never gave him what he wanted sexually (don't remember this subject matter in 1950's and 60's horror films) when she suddenly wakes up and bites his testicles off. While he cries out in pain and still answers his cell phone when work calls, he quickly gets up and throws one of his balls against a tombstone. That's your intro. I will say this, it does set up the tone for the rest of the movie so if that made you laugh, you may enjoy Chillerama. I, however, groaned and knew I was in for a long night.
While the ball-less man walks to a drive-in, the film turns to color and the rest of the movie takes place at an old drive-in which is about to be torn down and this is their final night. We see many people in different cars and concession stands and while I loved this premise and wish the entire film took place at the drive-in, the dialog is just as over the top and as silly as the opening of the film. It was as if a pre-pubescent Kevin Smith wrote the dialog. Characters are so witty and barely take a breathe while speaking. While I did chuckle at a few lines, it just doesn't work.
The stories that follow are films that are shown at the drive-in. We get Wadzilla, a man who goes to a sperm doctor and takes a drug to increase his sperm count but instead it creates killer sperm that grow to huge size. I Was a Teenage Werebear is a blend of 1960's beach movies, musicals and teenage monster movies. A young closeted gay man has no interest in his girlfriend but is obsessed with the bad boy at school who just happens to be a werewolf. The Diary of Anne Frankenstein is a black and white subtitled horror movie whose best joke is the title itself. It's overlong and dull. None of these stories is subtle in the very least and are so over the top and goofy that there is nothing smart or funny about any of them.
Chillerama is directed by Adam Rifkin, Tim Sullivan, Adam Green and Joe Lynch. Here are some of the films these guys have directed: National Lampoon's Stoned Age, 2001 Maniacs, Hatchet, and Wrong Turn 2. Need I say more? However, if you like these "films" and prefer to have your horror covered in comedic stupidity then you may enjoy this blu ray. It looks great and has a ton of special features such as numerous making of featurettes, deleted scenes and interviews.
Maybe the most insulting thing about the movie is the description on the blu ray where it says, "In the spirit of classic anthology films like Creepshow and Twilight Zone: The Movie..." No, no no. This is nothing like Creepshow or Twilight Zone: The Movie. Those films were well-made and had subtle amounts of humor. There is nothing subtle about a man swinging around a huge sperm with teeth. I am all for juvenile humor at times but when it tries too hard to be shocking and funny, I just get bored and that's exactly what Chillerama did to me.
Blu Ray Release: November 29, 2011
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
How far should a film go when it wants to pay homage to a certain film or genre of films? I kept asking myself this question while watching the overlong and over the top anthology horror-comedy Chillerama. Chillerama makes a Lloyd Kaufman Troma film look subtle and smart. It is so over the top and completely ludicrous, trying so hard to capture the feel of 1950's and 60's horror films but yet filled with gross out gags and fart jokes.
The opening starts off in black and white as this intoxicated man digs up his dead wife, babbling about how she never gave him what he wanted sexually (don't remember this subject matter in 1950's and 60's horror films) when she suddenly wakes up and bites his testicles off. While he cries out in pain and still answers his cell phone when work calls, he quickly gets up and throws one of his balls against a tombstone. That's your intro. I will say this, it does set up the tone for the rest of the movie so if that made you laugh, you may enjoy Chillerama. I, however, groaned and knew I was in for a long night.
While the ball-less man walks to a drive-in, the film turns to color and the rest of the movie takes place at an old drive-in which is about to be torn down and this is their final night. We see many people in different cars and concession stands and while I loved this premise and wish the entire film took place at the drive-in, the dialog is just as over the top and as silly as the opening of the film. It was as if a pre-pubescent Kevin Smith wrote the dialog. Characters are so witty and barely take a breathe while speaking. While I did chuckle at a few lines, it just doesn't work.
The stories that follow are films that are shown at the drive-in. We get Wadzilla, a man who goes to a sperm doctor and takes a drug to increase his sperm count but instead it creates killer sperm that grow to huge size. I Was a Teenage Werebear is a blend of 1960's beach movies, musicals and teenage monster movies. A young closeted gay man has no interest in his girlfriend but is obsessed with the bad boy at school who just happens to be a werewolf. The Diary of Anne Frankenstein is a black and white subtitled horror movie whose best joke is the title itself. It's overlong and dull. None of these stories is subtle in the very least and are so over the top and goofy that there is nothing smart or funny about any of them.
Chillerama is directed by Adam Rifkin, Tim Sullivan, Adam Green and Joe Lynch. Here are some of the films these guys have directed: National Lampoon's Stoned Age, 2001 Maniacs, Hatchet, and Wrong Turn 2. Need I say more? However, if you like these "films" and prefer to have your horror covered in comedic stupidity then you may enjoy this blu ray. It looks great and has a ton of special features such as numerous making of featurettes, deleted scenes and interviews.
Maybe the most insulting thing about the movie is the description on the blu ray where it says, "In the spirit of classic anthology films like Creepshow and Twilight Zone: The Movie..." No, no no. This is nothing like Creepshow or Twilight Zone: The Movie. Those films were well-made and had subtle amounts of humor. There is nothing subtle about a man swinging around a huge sperm with teeth. I am all for juvenile humor at times but when it tries too hard to be shocking and funny, I just get bored and that's exactly what Chillerama did to me.
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