They said it couldn’t be done. A fifth year of 31 Days of Horror? 31 more terror, gore and shower scene-filled movies worth highlighting? But Rejects always say die and never back away from a challenge, so we’ve rounded up the horror fans among us and put together another month’s worth of genre fun. Enjoy!
Synopsis
When a low budget horror production company cuts loose their star actress Rebecca Raven (Misty Mundae) in the hopes of upgrading to a larger chested model, the frustrated thespian takes some time off at a haunted estate. Meanwhile, the two bumbling studio heads dig through cheap independent horror flicks looking for blood, sex, and a new actress.
Killer Scene
Because of the segmented nature of the flick, it’s easier to isolate a segment than a scene that really shines. Zombie This deals with the “real world” where Rebecca Raven funnily fights off a zombie with a chainsaw, but more entertainingly deals with Frank and Gaylord, the two filmmakers. The writing of these guys is a surprisingly sharp commentary on the business side of Hollywood, with the best line coming from Frank as he’s forced to wade through short films looking for a new actress: I hate movies!
Kill Sheet
Sex
Set tongue-in-cheek style within the world of low budget horror films, the fictional filmmakers are always on the hunt for more actresses willing to strip down and bare their breasts on film. The actual filmmaker (Brett Piper) must have modeled these guys a little on himself since the film is stuffed with naked ladies. There are plenty of boobs, a couple asses, some pubic area glimpses, and some lesbian encounters.
Violence
While the film does take some time to get bloody, favoring laughs in the first two acts, it does ramp up the violence a bit later in the game. Rebecca Raven goes chainsaw to flesh against a zombie while one of the last movies-within-a-movie features some freaky dreams with ripped out hearts and plenty of blood.
Scares
As is evident from the title, Shock-O-Rama is more concerned with laughs (and nudity) than scares. You’ll like never jump out of your seat or lose any sleep, but the Lonely Are the Brain segment has some creepy elements.
Final Thoughts
Shock-O-Rama was a surprise when I first saw it and it remains so today. Based off of the box art or, pretty much anything about it, you’d probably guess it was a steaming pile of crap – not so! The film from special effects maestro, model maker, writer, and director Brett Piper is a shockingly smart satire on the industry and full of great, practical film making techniques. I’d better back off before over-hyping this, since the film isn’t amazing, but rather fun and interesting. What is great though is all of the model work, done by Piper. Instead of crappy CGI, there are puppets and models. It’s refreshing to see a relatively modern low budget film rely on the traditional methods of effects work that so effectively built the genre up. It’s not full of great scares, but it features a ton of nudity, some genuinely funny moments, and awesome practicals, so it’s worth a look this Halloween.
How Can You See It?- Blu-ray/DVD/Netflix/On Demand