THE DANMAN CAN

Joe Begos  very much comes from the Rob Zombie / David Gordon Green school of filmmaking where there’s a preoccupation with ultra dirtbag characters who don’t have much of a vocabulary outside of the F-bomb and where mean-spiritedness abounds.  It’s difficult to care one iota for a single character in Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022) when they are all this obnoxious and dispensed with so casually. When characters are this scummy and underdeveloped it somehow even robs the joy out of seeing them get offed. I honestly can’t tell if Begos is going for  Tarantino -cool or if he intentionally writes his characters as total douchebags. As he does in every one of his movies, Begos riffs on other, better-made ones. In  Almost Human   (2013) ( review ) it was  Invasion Of The Body Snatchers   (1978) and  The Thing  (1982) ( review ); in  The Mind's Eye   (2015) ( review ) it was  Scanners   (1981) ( review ) and  ...

Joe Begos ' skill at filmmaking has undoubtedly improved over the course of his four features, but despite directing from a script by other writers this time, and despite the old-time, big name character actors assembled,  VFW  (2019) still rings hollow and feels like more of the same derivative cinema that he has made his name from. Begos doesn't attempt to disguise his  John Carpenter / Assault On Precinct 13 (1976) worship in the slightest. As with his previous film, Bliss (2019) (which I think is his best work so far; my review here ), VFW appears to have been shot on Super 16 mm, giving it a gritty, grainy look, but some scenes are lit so darkly—and the action is so sloppy—that it's difficult to distinguish exactly what is going on. There's plenty of nice, gory violence for those that crave it, but many of the practical f/x get lost in the murkiness and shaky cam. Once again  Steve Moore 's score is excellent—I've said it before and I'll say it again:...

It was interesting to watch Joe Begos ' second and third features back-to-back. With its gritty Super 16 mm look and a strong uninhibited central performance from Dora Madison  (who the film spends most of the running time with—she's basically in every scene),  Bliss   (2019), Begos' sorta vampire film, is a noticeable improvement from his first two films (my reviews here and here ). In addition to the benefit of being shot on film and having a lead that is willing to go the distance for the role, Bliss  feels like Begos making his own film for the first time. Yes, there are definitely elements borrowed from  Gasper Noé  and  Abel Ferarra , but it feels less like copying and more like expression this time—to the point where, in some regards, Bliss actually feels like a genuine grindhouse film from the early 80s. While a drugged-out artist who treats her friends and acquaintances like shit and spirals downward doesn't beg much sympathy and while t...

As with his debut feature, Almost Human (2013) (my review here ), director  Joe Begos ' follow-up is a bit too derivative of other films to set itself apart, but it's clear that Begos wasn't setting out to advance the horror genre with either release. The Mind's Eye (2015) again stars Graham Skipper as the lead, one of the things that hurts the film—Skipper is certainly earnest but his acting is so-so (and laughable in moments when it's supposed to be serious). In some ways, TME  is a step up from Begos' first film—the production values are higher, the action and f/x are better, and the score by Steve Moore  adds a level of credibility. But as the movie progresses, as with his debut, Begos relies too heavily on borrowing—this time from David Cronenberg / Scanners (1981) (my review here ) and Brian De Palma / The Fury  (1978). Story and characterization take a back seat for gory telekinetic set pieces, which are fun, but become pretty repetitive. The blu...

Almost Human (2013) is a decent debut feature from director Joe Begos . The story (or lack thereof) and shots, which are highly derivative of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers   (1978) and  John Carpenter (both the credits font and elements of The Thing  (1982) (my review here ) and Halloween (1978) (my review here ))—along with the amateur acting—ultimately hurt the film, but the fun gory makeup f/x from Rob Fitz  are a highlight. I also can't help but appreciate the effort and spirit behind low budget horror films when the cast and crew clearly care about the outcome (even if it's mostly mediocre). I'll admit I'm pretty interested in Begos's upcoming film VFW (2019) though because it has a cadre of recognizable genre actors ( William Sadler , Stephen Lang , David Patrick Kelly , George Wendt , and Fred Williamson ) and I'd like to see how his filmmaking has improved over four films.