August 6, 2007

FIRST LOOK: 100 TEARS (Aug. 07) by Robg.

Ok. Within the first 15 minutes, you should be able to tell if 100 TEARS is your kind of movie. A huge, burly fellow dressed as a crazy clown and wielding a giant cleaver walks thru a halfway house and systematically slaughters at least a dozen people. All in the first 15 minutes! And it comes as no surprise that director Marcus Koch is also a special FX make-up artist, because it totally shows in the gleeful gruesome way that all these kills are executed in.

When we’re not watching Gurdy the clown chop teens limb from limb into little pieces, we’re following around investigative reporters Mark (Joe Davidson – also the film’s writer) and Jennifer (Georgia Chris), two writers sick & tired of covering stories for the local tabloids, hence investigating instead the legendary “teardrop” killer, who’s been terrorizing unsuspecting groups of victims for 20 plus years! That’s plural. GROUPS of victims.

Now to be quite frank, this is a low-budget affair. It looks like it was most likely shot on digital, but unlike the hundred of other low-budget indies that get churned out on a regular basis, this one really has got a lot going for it. First off, I really like these lead characters!

Davidson not only does a great job writing these two lead characters, but does a stellar job acting the part of Mark and making his relationship with Jennifer seem totally believable. They’re not dating, they’re just friends, but they have that certain chemistry between them. You know the kind. It’s playfully sarcastic and sprinkled with non-stop joking around and it makes you wonder why the hell these two aren’t together. (Probably because much like in real life, the beautiful gal never seems to realize that her best guy friend is totally in love with her. Sheesh!) Still, because of the way they’re written and acted, I didn’t mind following these two characters around in between Gurdy’s chopping sessions. (And let’s be honest, Georgia Chris is pretty darned hot!)

Then there’s Gurdy himself. Look, clowns are freaky as is. Give him a giant clever and you’ve got an iconic horror image already working for you. Plus, give him the trademark killer’s backstory, and you’ve got something interesting to play with. (Especially in sequels, should they decide to go that route.) (Yes, it involves a carnival and perhaps a few circus freaks.) Raine Brown’s character plays a bit part in expanding the backstory of Gurdy, but I won’t spoil it for ya. Just watch. (By the way, she’s hot too.)

Here’s the one thing that definitely sets this apart from ALL the other indies coming out right now. The gore! Marcus, a totally capable director in his own right, must have known that with his limited resources, he’d have to really make the murderous mayhem count. And boy, does it count. Seriously, I can’t remember the last time a film had this high of a body count. No, this isn’t one of those flicks where we really get to “know the characters” and don’t want them to die.

This is one where we see a group of kids and eagerly await the sick, twisted and creative ways that this nutty clown is going to dispatch of them. Each and every kill is so over the top that you can’t help but cheerfully laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all, or just stand up to applaud at how awesome what you just witnessed was. Some of these would-be victims even try to fight back! It’s not all standard “slasher” fare. I love that some put up a fight with Gurdy only to make one false move and get their heads chopped off regardless.

The movie’s not without its flaws. For me personally, the ending seemed rather abrupt considering the pacing of the rest of the piece. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I totally got it. It went right to a quick shocker that I didn’t quite expect as the resolution to this story. The only other thing I can critique is the score. While it’s totally fine and suitable for the feature, I just wish there was more of it. And that it was more appropriately used thru-out the film. There’s a few “techno-ish” sections and personally, I can’t stand techno. I don’t know. I love “score” to movies more then anything. And everything else in this flick is pretty strong, including the score for the opening sequence. I just felt there were a lot of spots where a straight forward score could’ve added a lot more.

All in all, while not a perfect horror film, 100 TEARS definitely piqued my interest into what the creative team behind this movie might be capable of pulling off in the future. Again, Marcus is a good director. His strong point is executing the murder set pieces and I truly hope to see him develop with whatever he chooses to do from here on in. Now, if only more indie flicks took this kind of care into the execution of their films? Recommended. –Robg.