Starring Joshua Kennedy, Andrea Negrete, Alex Villarreal, Joshua Palacios, Marco Adriel Munoz
Directed by Joshua Kennedy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After attending a class reunion, young people find themselves being stalked and murdered by a legendary half-human creature.
Young filmmaker Joshua Kennedy delivers another of his tribute films to classics of the past, this time focusing on the horror films of Universal Pictures and Hammer Films, if I'm not mistaken. Lensed in black and white like his debut picture, Attack Of The Octopus People, the movie makes good use of swirling fog, dark shadows, and an effective creature costume to build its chills.
We know this is a bunch of teenagers performing in their homes and school, but they're earnest and believable, and those returning from Kennedy's original picture are more accomplished actors than they were the first time around, particularly Negrete and Palacios. Kennedy stars, but as one of a more cohesive ensemble this time around, including his father Gus as a saddened and vengeful parent, and the memorably mustached Jairus Esparza as the local sheriff. A special role is saved for Kennedy's sister Kat, who delights as the aged Madame Ouspenskaya, named in tribute to The Wolf Man's wise gypsy, offering the customary grim warnings that are heeded too late. Josh's dialogue for his characters must have been fun to deliver with many a memorable line well spoken by his cast.
Kennedy's technical effects are a bit more seamless than in his first movie, with even a car crash involving footage of a matchbox size toy coming off well. I'm not familiar with the music sources used on the soundtrack but they capably underscore the action, and add to the creepy atmosphere. Although still a teenager when this was filmed, Josh's editing and integration of close ups with medium and long shots display more skill than I've seen from some adult filmmakers.
For an amateur production with no budget to speak of, this is an entertaining film which should stand the test of time for any with an appreciation for classic horror, especially those films that aimed to bring fun to the audience along with their frights.
Showing posts with label Joshua Palacios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joshua Palacios. Show all posts
Friday, January 20, 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Attack Of The Octopus People (2010)
Starring Joshua Kennedy, Andrea Negrete, Joshua Palacios, Alex Villarreal, Kat Kennedy
Directed by Joshua Kennedy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young man returns home from military service to take a job at a seafood manufacturer, and discovers a conspiracy there to take over humanity by creatures from the deep.
Joshua Kennedy's debut feature is an ode to classic sci-fi films of the 1950s and beyond, filmed during his teenage years, with a cast populated by his family and friends, and everyone looks like they're having a lot of fun. Although the picture features references to movies like The Tingler and It Conquered The World and a soundtrack assembled from the film scores of composer Herman Stein, the story is an original one, and what Kennedy lacks in his limited budget, he makes up for in the exuberance of the film, which launches octopus toys and puppets across the screen with all the seriousness of a creature feature filmed on the Universal-International lot.
A lot of us played around with movie cameras at a young age, but few probably put together anything like this film, which is impressively edited and never drags. The sets may be primarily rooms at Kennedy's house or school, with furniture sometimes hidden behind hanging sheets, and computer printouts standing in for official signs, but I didn't care, as Josh's strong narrative sense propels the story along. All the hallmarks of the 1950s features are here, from the prologue that introduces us to Josh Palacios' well-spoken villain, the sweet romance between Kennedy's hero and love interest Negrete, the eerie focus on the octopi bursting from their captive containers, introductions of suspicious characters like Kat Kennedy's cantankerous hotel manager, and the crowds running in terror once the sea creatures take to the streets.
Yes, the special effects are not very convincing, and the octopus props not all that effective, and a few scenes would have benefitted from some post-dubbing, but that doesn't negate the impressiveness of this accomplishment for a boy of Kennedy's age.
Kennedy's plea to a frightened theater audience, lifted almost verbatim from a Vincent Price film, shows off his fine rich voice which would be a definite asset in his later films, and friends of Josh should smile at a sequence in which he manages to share the screen with one of his cinema heroes. It's not many who can capture their childhood in a piece of work that manages to last, but I think he'll look back on this work fondly for years to come.
Directed by Joshua Kennedy
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A young man returns home from military service to take a job at a seafood manufacturer, and discovers a conspiracy there to take over humanity by creatures from the deep.
Joshua Kennedy's debut feature is an ode to classic sci-fi films of the 1950s and beyond, filmed during his teenage years, with a cast populated by his family and friends, and everyone looks like they're having a lot of fun. Although the picture features references to movies like The Tingler and It Conquered The World and a soundtrack assembled from the film scores of composer Herman Stein, the story is an original one, and what Kennedy lacks in his limited budget, he makes up for in the exuberance of the film, which launches octopus toys and puppets across the screen with all the seriousness of a creature feature filmed on the Universal-International lot.
A lot of us played around with movie cameras at a young age, but few probably put together anything like this film, which is impressively edited and never drags. The sets may be primarily rooms at Kennedy's house or school, with furniture sometimes hidden behind hanging sheets, and computer printouts standing in for official signs, but I didn't care, as Josh's strong narrative sense propels the story along. All the hallmarks of the 1950s features are here, from the prologue that introduces us to Josh Palacios' well-spoken villain, the sweet romance between Kennedy's hero and love interest Negrete, the eerie focus on the octopi bursting from their captive containers, introductions of suspicious characters like Kat Kennedy's cantankerous hotel manager, and the crowds running in terror once the sea creatures take to the streets.
Yes, the special effects are not very convincing, and the octopus props not all that effective, and a few scenes would have benefitted from some post-dubbing, but that doesn't negate the impressiveness of this accomplishment for a boy of Kennedy's age.
Kennedy's plea to a frightened theater audience, lifted almost verbatim from a Vincent Price film, shows off his fine rich voice which would be a definite asset in his later films, and friends of Josh should smile at a sequence in which he manages to share the screen with one of his cinema heroes. It's not many who can capture their childhood in a piece of work that manages to last, but I think he'll look back on this work fondly for years to come.
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