Tag: Pat Healy

WAMG Giveaway – Win the Shocker THE PALE DOOR starring Devin Druid on DVD

The new western/horror hybrid THE PALE DOOR  will be available on DVD October 6th with exciting bonus features including behind-the-scenes featurettes. Now you can win the Win the DVD of THE PALE DOOR.  Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite horror western is. (mine’s CURSE OF THE UNDEAD It’s so easy!)

1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES.  NO P.O. BOXES.  NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.

2. WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.

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Check out this terrifying Trailer:

The Dalton gang finds shelter in a seemingly uninhabited ghost town after a train robbery goes south. Seeking help for their wounded leader, they are surprised to stumble upon a welcoming brothel in the town’s square. But the beautiful women who greet them are actually a coven of witches with very sinister plans for the unsuspecting outlaws – and the battle between good and evil is just beginning.



THE PALE DOOR – Review

THE PALE DOOR will be in theaters and on Demand and Digital August 21, 2020

Review by Stephen Tronicek

When you try to attack a genre piece, especially a Western, on a low-budget the story and characters have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Sure the costumes might look stagey and the frame a little too clean for the period, but at least there’s a good theme to hold onto. The Pale Door, directed by Aaron B. Koontz (Camera Obscura), unfortunately doesn’t quite get there. While it has a few good performances and spirit to spare, it doesn’t have the story to rise above it’s lower budget trappings. 

    The Pale Door could be best described as a horror/Western. It’s a film about a group of outlaws, including brothers Jake (Devin Druid, Louder Than Bombs) and Duncan (Zachary Knighton, The Hitcher), who fail to rob a train and end up in the clutches of a mysterious whorehouse. As the night unfolds, the truth of the place becomes sinister putting the brothers in harm’s way. 

    The most interesting element here is the relationship between the brothers. Their camaraderie makes up the backbone of the story, and while it treads familiar ground, Druid and Knighton create a believable rapport. Also quite good are veteran players like Melora Walters (Magnolia) and Bill Sage (Mysterious Skin), who both have a great time realizing what type of movie they are in. A movie like this lives and dies on personality and both have that to spare as the Madam of house and a hothead gang member respectively. 

    Where the film trips over is when it starts to embrace some of the more problematic aspects of the Western genre. Sure the “temptresses” are using their sexuality to lure most of the gang in, but there isn’t much of an attempt to make them more than just that. The Women have been wronged and want revenge, but eventually, by the movie’s standards, they are all just evil creatures who deserve to be shot. Similarly to the surface level examination of feminist tropes, the film handles its tropes on race. It presents an outward friendship between the brothers and their companion, Lester (Stan Shaw), but never bothers to dig deeper. Not every movie needs to be a perfect treatise on these issues, but if you’re going to make your movie about these issues, it’s best to explore them in a meaningful way. In the end, it’s the same old conservative values wrapped in a message of acceptance and “preserving your innocence.” 

    While all of these aspects are flawed, the makeup/special effects work is quite entertaining. The Women in their final forms have a really nasty and fun character design. Same goes for the squibs. While there are probably numerous computer generated blood effects, the practical ones harken back nicely to splatterhouse charms. 

    The Pale Door is a fine attempt at some grindhouse fun, but it is too steeped in sickening thematic material to be enjoyable. While a few performances and gore-effects shine, the film doesn’t have the entertainment value to be worth checking out. 

2 out of 5 Stars

Check Out the Trailer and Poster for THE PALE DOOR starring Devin Druid and Zachary Knighton – Available August 21st

THE PALE DOOR WILL BE AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AND DIGITAL AND IN THEATERS August 21st, 2020.

Check out this terrifying Trailer:

The Dalton gang finds shelter in a seemingly uninhabited ghost town after a train robbery goes south. Seeking help for their wounded leader, they are surprised to stumble upon a welcoming brothel in the town’s square. But the beautiful women who greet them are actually a coven of witches with very sinister plans for the unsuspecting outlaws – and the battle between good and evil is just beginning.

THE PALE DOOR stars Devin Druid, Zachary Knighton, Noah Segan, Stan Shaw, Pat Healy, Bill Sage, Melora Walters, and Natasha Bassett

CHEAP THRILLS – Fantasia Review

CHEAP THRILLS (2013)

Way back in 1993, the industry was buzzing over the controversial subject matter of INDECENT PROPOSAL. Demi Moore was offered a ton of money to have sexual relations with Robert Redford and we all asked, “What would we do for a million dollars?” This was an intriguing question then and it still is now, but is being paid one million dollars to sleep with another man when your husband agrees to it from the get go really all that taboo by today’s standards?

I say “Hell no! This is 2013 and we want to see some hardcore shit, man!” Thankfully, we have highly principled philosopher filmmakers out there willing to push the envelope and shove our faces in the gritty truth of humanity. I say “Thank you, Mr. Katz! Thank you for showing us how utterly flawed we are and allowing us to enjoy ourselves in the process.” CHEAP THRILLS is exactly what the title suggests and an unfiltered look at our modern moral standards that doesn’t truly settle in until the movie is over and you have sufficient time to digest what has just been seen… and depending on your constitution, possibly also change your shirt.

E.L. Katz wrote, directed and produced CHEAP THRILLS, which is more grind house than full-on horror, as Katz’ history in filmmaking and fandom may otherwise suggest. The story begins innocently enough as Craig, played by Pat Healy, leaves the comfort of his wife’s sexual embrace for another day at work. The moment his front door closes behind him is the moment his life begins to spiral into chaos. Craig’s world is falling apart around him, threatening his family and his home. When he gets to work and learns he’s been downsized, he does what any red-blooded American would do… heads to the local bar to drown his sorrows.

CHEAP THRILLS truly begins at the bar. Craig’s old friend Vince, played by Ethan Embry, shows up and it’s immediately apparent that these two characters no longer have much in common. Craig is a straight-laced family man while Vince never grew up, still parties like its 1999 and makes his living breaking guy’s knees over petty loans. Craig appears weak and defeated by the weight of the world. Vince couldn’t care less, throws caution to the wind. Neither of them is prepared for Colin and Violet.

David Koechner, best known for his role on TV’s THE OFFICE and ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY, carries a surprisingly even performance as Colin, a fun-loving mysterious man throwing money around like its yesterday’s newspaper. Colin is out on the town, celebrating his wife Violet’s birthday. Ridiculously sexy and silent for much of the film, Violet is played by Sara Paxton, who starred along side Pat Healy in Ti West’s unforgettably spooky film THE INNKEEPERS. Violet seems too young and too pretty for Colin, but her quiet and sultry demeanor combined with Colin’s subtle creepiness work well together to develop a sense of uneasiness that festers in the background as the audience teeters between shock and laughter.

CHEAP THRILLS is highly adept at two things on the surface, pleasing the most discerning shock enthusiast and disgusting the more easily offended of viewers. E. L. Katz spares nothing in his endeavor to take the simple philosophical question to a new level. Colin and Violet invite Craig and Vince to join them in celebrating by offering them large amounts of money to do incredibly stupid things. To describe CHEAP THRILLS as INDECENT PROPOSAL meets JACKASS really doesn’t do the film any justice, but it does begin to illustrate what the audience is about to experience. The film has blood and gore, violence, a touch of sex (but no nudity) and an endless supply of moments that will make you wince. Fear not, this is all done in the name of exploring a deeper philosophical question: How far will you go for a large sum of money?

E.L. Katz doesn’t just present a large sum of money and let the dogs loose. Instead, Katz sets up a more complicated scenario involving desperation, family, friendship, betrayal, greed and guilt, a scenario that truly asks the viewer to consider the underlying implications once the film has ended. All of this intelligent filmmaking wrapped up in a disturbingly comical package that features breaking and entering, drugs and alcohol, lust and larceny, bodily mutilation and perhaps one of the most offensive scenes in the history of cinema involving a small, cute puppy dog.

CHEAP THRILLS is a wild ride into depravity derived from desperation. Having earned the Midnight Films Audience Award at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival is a sure sign of this film’s appeal and expected longevity as a cult favorite. Not since John Waters’ films have you seen something as shocking and potentially offensive as you will see in CHEAP THRILLS. Dog lovers beware!

CHEAP THRILLS premieres in Canada on August 4th during the 2013 Fantasia International Film Festival.

cheap-thrills_poster

COMPLIANCE – The Review

Time for another movie ” inspired by true events “, but this one sticks much closer to reality than recent flicks THE VOW and PEOPLE LIKE US. So much so, that it’s really thought-provoking. And ultimately disturbing. COMPLIANCE is based on a real incident that occurred in Kentucky during the 1990’s. A couple of lines of dialogue are taken verbatim from newspaper articles and network TV news magazine shows. This is one of those rare films that…well, if you go with some friends, expect to discuss it afterwards, from drinks, through dinner, perhaps past dessert. COMPLIANCE is not a film that will evaporate from your mind the minute you pass through the theatre doors.

The setting is a fast food place called ChickWich, home of breaded chicken patty sandwiches and chicken tenders, located in suburban Ohio during a wintry Friday. Frazzled manager Sandra ( Ann Dowd ) is doing the best she can on this busy day. She’s almost out of bacon ( OMG! ) and one of her cooks is sick with ” that thing that’s going around “. To further complicates matters, she gets a call from an Officer Daniels ( Pat Healy ). He tells her that a ChickWich customer claims that one of the cashiers, a petite doe-eyed 19 year-old named  Becky ( Dreama Walker ), reached into her purse and grabbed a handful of cash. Sandra brings Becky into the back office and puts her on the phone to Daniels. Becky denies the theft. Daniels tells her that he will come to the restaurant, arrest her, and keep her in jail overnight unless she consents to allow Sandra and her assistant manager Marti ( Ashlie Atkinson ) to search her. And so begins a long, long day of humiliations as the directions of the Daniels are conveyed over that office phone and followed through to aid him in his ” investigation “.

Helping anchor this almost impossible to believe true story are three impeccable actors who should ( and hopefully will ) become better known. I was only familiar with Dreama Walker from the TV sitcom ” Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 “, so I was surprised at her dramatic range in the role of the hapless Becky. At the film’s start, she’s a carefree gal in her late teens, who knows that the future will be much brighter once she’s past this wage slave job. That future seems in jeopardy as the nightmare begins. She’s stunned at first, then outraged at the accusation. But the caller amps up the fear and soon she’s careening from helplessness to hopelessness.  For the audience she becomes everybody’s kid sister. She has to be rescued from that cold, dank room. We don’t see Pat Healy as the caller until well after the interrogation has begun ( beside a brief scene as he buys his phone cards ), but once we see him at the other end of line , Healy becomes one of the great screen villains. We can see the wheels in his head turning as improvises his instructions and peppers the conversation with ” cop jargon ” ( thanks to a several police manuals ). This is the banality of evil as he goes about his daily routines ( taking out the garbage, fixing lunch ) always with the receiver almost attached to his ear. It’s a movie monster we’ve not seen before. A true control freak. Sandra is played expertly by character actress Ann Dowd. Usually regulated to mothers and professionals ( lawyers, doctors, etc. ), Dowd gets a chance to shine as the dithering overseer. She seems to be one of those plate-spinners from the old Ed Sullivan TV shows. She just can’t keep all those dishes moving.When we first meet her she’s berated by another company boss. Later she’s insulted not so subtly by her staff ( maybe she shouldn’t have told them that she and her beau exchange ” sex texts” in an ill-advised attempt to seem ” with it” ). Speaking of him, she struggles to keep her man on the straight and narrow, while believing that he’s going to pop the question any day now ( one last chance at longed for marital bliss ). She may be a more clueless, pitiful female spin on Steve Carell’s Michael Scott of the TV’s ” The Office”. Sandra’s so frazzled that she’s the perfect patsy for Daniels. Confusion turns to confidence as Sandra  convinces herself that she’s being a good citizen ( there may be a bit of resentment going on since Becky represents youthful promise that passed her by decades ago ). She’s an example of the dangers of gullibility, literally naive’ to a fault.

Director Craig Zobel gets everything right about the restaurant world. The customers at the drive-thru and counter have no idea of the drama going on in the back kitchens and offices ( kind of like backstage at a theatre ). You can almost smell the frozen chicken fillets cooking in the bubbling grease baskets. The film begins almost as a fast food take on OFFICE SPACE with a clueless boss, snarky, bored wage slaves, and cranky patrons. But once Daniels calls, Zobel ups the tension very slowly we’re in for a rough ride. It’s almost as if we’re being held hostage in that cold back room along with Becky. Many times I wished I could jump into the screen, grab a character by the shoulders, and try to scream some sense into them. And all the while you just can’t believe this really happened. My only complaint is a somewhat confusing time line. While night has fallen at the ChickWich, the sun shines brightly at Daniels’s home. That’s a minor quibble. COMPLIANCE is a film that may be difficult to watch, but it’ll be bouncing around your head for quite a while…much longer than a meal at your local ChickWich.

Overall Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

COMPLIANCE plays exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre

THE INNKEEPERS – Fantastic Fest Review

When I first saw writer and director Ti West’s HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first, but after a second viewing, not only did I love it, I also learned something about the films of Ti West… there’s more than meets the eye upon your first viewing. The same can be said about Ti West’s new film THE INNKEEPERS, a smart, funny film with plenty of old school scares and a subtle twist to the haunted house genre.

Ti West has come to be known as one of the most important new filmmakers of the indie horror scene and THE INNKEEPERS is a great example of why that statement is as true as it bold. Unlike many contemporary horror filmmakers today, Ti West moves beyond the standard shock and awe strategy of gore and violence. In its place, West fills his films with a genuine atmosphere of reality-based creepiness, flavored with nostalgia and quality storytelling with tangible characters.

THE INNKEEPER is a tale about two employees, Claire and Luke, who are the lone employees during a historic hotel’s final weekend of business. Luke (Pat Healy) is an amateur “ghost hunter” determined to record proof that the hotel is haunted before it closes, while Claire (Sara Paxton) is there to help as they take turns taking shifts. Fortunately, the hotel has only two guests; a mother in a bad mood with her little girl, followed shortly after by a famous actress (played by Kelly McGillis) with whom Claire is infatuated.

In short, the story revolves as much around the awkwardly familiar relationship between Claire and Luke as it does the haunted mystery of the hotel’s ghostly past. THE INNKEEPERS weaves a charming story that unfolds with the precision of a Swiss army knife, revealing only what’s necessary for the audience to piece together on their own and nothing more, but it’s the perfect portioning for a scary tale that will appeal to a much wider audience than some of its more graphically intense counterparts.

Pat Healy seems to be channeling a little bit of Simon Pegg in his performance as the sarcastic slacker who’s too cool for his own geekiness. Sara Paxton, on the other hand, is unbearably cute as the slightly oblivious and nerdy Claire, fully absorbed within her own curiosity and very easily scared. The chemistry between these two characters give THE INNKEEPERS a lot of its most enjoyably playful moments, while Ti West builds the more frightening elements of the story one brick at a time until the surprisingly simple but brilliantly jaw dropping climax, which will have audiences talking on a level not experienced since opening weekend of THE SIXTH SENSE. On that note, I’ll watch THE INNKEEPERS over and over again before doing the same with Shyamalan’s blockbuster… THE INNKEEPERS has more staying power.

I hesitate in calling THE INNKEEPERS a family-friendly movie, as that tends to convey a level of disrespect for many seasoned fans of the horror genre, but the truth is… Ti West has masterfully crafted an intensely creepy, scary horror-thriller that can be seen and appreciated by audiences of virtually all ages, but does not bend at the knee to dumb down the story, delivering well crafted dialogue with humor and likable, real characters. One of my top 5 favorite films of Fantastic Fest 2011, I’d have to call this my #1 film to recommend from the fest. THE INNKEEPERS currently does not have a theatrical release date, but will become available through Video On Demand on December 30th, 2011. Its really a shame, because THE INNKEEPERS plays marvelously in a crowded theater.