As time went on, the killer became the focus of the films. The bad guy, in a way, became an anti-hero. Audiences began to root for the bad guy, as strange as that sounds, as the villain became more colorful and more powerful with each successive film. Consider Freddy from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. He, along with Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers became so unstoppable that they almost contained a supernatural element. After a while, it became almost uninteresting because of their invulnerability and the limitless ineptitude of the hapless victims.
Slashers gave way to the more recent "torture porn" genre which I have very little interest in. It's really gore for gore's sake. I'm not opposed to seeing simulated violence, especially if it serves the story. John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the grossest films ever, but it is still awesome. There has to be a good story, at least some depth, and characterization. Those elements can make or break a good movie. Enter Ditch Day Massacre.
The Basic Plot (Minor Spoiler Alert...skip down if you want to avoid plot points)
Less ripoff of teen slasher flicks such as Halloween or the above-mentioned Friday series and more homage to the genre, Ditch Day Massacre provides us with a slasher movie that puts the genre on its ear in a couple of ways. Without giving away too much, here is a basic run-down.
Jenny, a popular high-school girl with a promising future, is still tortured by an automobile accident from one year ago. Sensing her depression, and knowing her parents are going to be out for a few convenient days, her boyfriend convinces her to ditch school and throw a party with several friends at her home. She agrees reluctantly, and soon we have six kids getting together, drinking, and playing party games. They are being watched by a stalker with some dark intentions. It is revealed that the killer is a man who was involved in Jenny's accident a year ago, and he lost his family in the wreck. Jenny was responsible, being too high to remember anything, and evidently drove away. With her father and his corrupt partner investigating, she never had to pay for her crime, which is a major theme of the movie. The killer is motivated by revenge for his wife and daughter, though we don't know anything about him before the accident. Maybe he was unbalanced to begin with; we simply don't know. What we do know is that he is fixated on Jenny, and we know why.
The killer, named Vick (Bill Oberst, Jr), captures Jenny's parents, and their fate is ambiguous. He shows no mercy to anyone in his way, even the innocent cougar neighbor who only wanted to flirt with him. The police station gets a tip from a farmer about the missing dad (his vehicle is on the rural property), and the dad's partner, the mysterious Detective Mann, who has more than a few skeletons in his closet, comes to investigate. At the villa, the kids all get drunk and split up in twos to play chess. I'm kidding, they don't play chess, they have sex. Anyone who has seen an 80's slasher film knows what that means. Sex normally means you have a giant target on you. So we've got our horny teens, a nosy neighbor, a curious jerk cop, and a back story / motivation for our killer.While it sounds like I'm describing every slasher ever made, I'm not. I'm intentionally providing basic plot points and motifs in case you want to see this for yourself. The writing is much more detailed than what I'm giving here, and this story has surprising depth and characterization. There are several points that puts this film ahead of others in the genre. First...
THE CAST
Bill Oberst, Jr is "Vick". Here, Oberst brings his considerable skill as an actor to the table. Most of the time, in this kind of movie the killer is played with either stoicism or over-the-top relish. Additionally, the killer normally has a mask, lots of makeup, or some kind of physical deformation to flesh out the performance. Oberst's "Vick" has none of this, save for some scarring from the accident, and Bill plays him with a wide range of emotions. His eyes convey so much, that with very little or no dialog, the actor shows us rage, elation, remorse, and maybe even some regret showing through. An actor with the skill to communicate so much without uttering a word deserves accolades, especially in a film where he could just phone it in like everyone else. For a taste of how quickly he can scare the bejesus out of you in only a minute, go to FaceBook and watch Take This Lollipop. You will see how he shows anger, hurt, and deviousness all at once. It's a weird sensation, being impressed, and scared to death at the same time.
Bill spent at least a decade traveling the East Coast doing live theater, performing in all types, from comedy, to musicals, to historical dramas and one-man shows. His years of honing the ability to keep the audience fixed on him pays off here, as he brings a dynamic presence to what could have been just another villainous role. He makes the viewer feel empathy, even as he commits some of the most horrifying acts.
Katy Foley does a decent job playing "Jenny". She has the job of trying to play a character that is a smart sort of goody-two-shoes without coming across as an insufferable know-it-all, which can't be easy.
Zach Silverman is "Mike", the boyfriend. He does pretty well, given the material he has. He comes across as a pretty normal guy for the most part, and despite being the catalyst that provokes Jenny to have the party in the first place, he does seem to care for her.
Gabriel De Santi is "Max". He is the most likable of the teen cast, and has some of the funniest dialog.
Pandie Suicide as "Trina" is our goth girl with a wild side. She is probably the funniest character besides Max, and in the real world would probably have the greatest chance of survival. She probably puts up the best fight, next to...
Brad Potts as "Officer Mann". Brad is your cookie-cutter a-hole detective, always yelling at and threatening subordinates. Potts is an intimidating figure who would make a great drill sergeant. He often plays policemen and authority figures, and with good reason. He is loud, large, and scary. He chews up and spits out every scene he is in, and is fun to watch.The rest are all decent, turning in a performance that serves the story well. While no one here except Brad Potts really has the strong presence to go toe-to-toe with Bill Oberst, overall they did a good job.
TECHNICAL STUFF
Makeup Effects
Josh and Sierra Russell deserve high praise for their efforts in this. They earn major props because the creative team opted for physical effects, rather than CGI. The makeup and prosthetic work make this look superior to modern "A-list" films, which rely too heavily on computer effects, in my opinion. Violence in Ditch Day is pretty extreme, and the details are there. Much of it was difficult to watch because of the high realism. Vick carries around an ax and uses it regularly to great effect, and makes use of any other tool he finds lying around as well. In certain sequences, the killer catches victims in, shall we say, compromising positions, presenting more of a challenge to the effects team. That may sound like an odd thing to say, but think about it: an ax going into someone not wearing any clothes and sticking is hard to replicate, but the prosthetic team pulls it off. Tom Savini would be impressed with this project. If you don't know who Tom Savini is, then close the browser and go away. Just kidding, don't leave. Please?There are dismemberments, people getting bashed, stabbed and gutted. There is a nice reference to at least a couple of movies in this area, including a personal favorite, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, when a character meets his demise via a weed-eater. Whether the reference is intentional or if I am connecting too many dots is irrelevant; I am just having fun with this movie.
Besides the physical makeup effects, the impact and shock value are aided by...
Sound Design
The sounds in horror movies, especially lower-budget indie flicks, is normally spotty at best. Here, the mix is perfect, particularly effective in the murder scenes without going overboard. When a character is gutted at one point, his intestines spill out, and while you don't see everything in every shot, you hear the sound of entrails splatting on the floor. It makes the scene that much more effective.
The great score by Giona Ostinelli is pitch perfect. It scares you in the "jump" scenes, and transitions perfectly from the party scenes to the scares. During the ending sequence, when our killer gets what's coming to him, the fantastically subtle music along with Bill Oberst's amazing performance, make that scene one of the best.
Art Direction
The production design made a pretty bold choice. The first thing that I noticed about this film was the overall look. What stands out is how bright everything is. Suburbia is reflected in whites, beige walls, and bright colors. Were this not a scary movie, it could be a teen show like Party of Five. I know that is a dated reference, but I'm not up on those shows. Sue me.
The thing is, with the house design being so bright and cheerful, and this entire movie taking place in the day time (except the opening scene), the content is that much more shocking. Kills are done out in the open in broad daylight, often in a cheery well-decorated room. This makes the movie much more impactful, in my opinion, making me believe this could happen anywhere, even in my home. In movies that take place at night in a creepy cabin, I'm thinking "OF COURSE, there's a killer there!", but because you don't expect it in upper-middle class Suburbia, it's all the more reason to be scared.
CONTENT
It should be noted that the rating was unavailable to me. This is a new film and may not have yet been reviewed by the MPAA; however, experience tells me in the US it would be likely R if not NC-17.
Gore abounds in this, which is typical for films of the genre. Additionally, two women and a one man appear nude, so if you are offended by nudity, you should have the 'skip' button handy. Clearly this is not a movie to put on while the kids are up!
FINAL VERDICT
Ditch Day Massacre pulls no punches and slays your perception of slashers. There is just enough familiarity to make you believe you've seen it all before, and then it slaps you in the face and hangs you up by your ankles. Longtime fans of slasher flicks will feel like a kid again. There are many references to classics, from Halloween to The Shining. If you enjoy this type of movie, you'll get a serious kick out of Ditch Day Massacre. While the grisly scenes and other content may cause you to hide your eyes occasionally, the story does not just hit you with shocking material with no point. Morality themes surface repeatedly, including the concept that your past will always come back to find you, and everyone eventually pays for their crime. Looking through my lens as a Christian, I am able to go along with that motif. Viewers who are not Christians will also appreciate the karmic message. Oberst's skill at playing villains with an emotional conflict, along with solid writing and direction place this well above other films in its category. 4/4.
Watch the Trailer Here
DIDJA KNOW?
Though there were no ghosts, paranormal activities, creepy crawlers or fanged critters called for in the script, our villain’s layer was haunted by a real entity, a ghost named Charlene. According to the property owner “Charlene” is the reason he abandoned living in the large villa. And yes, this is a true story. During the first location scout, the creative team including producer Megan Waters—unashamed—reached out to the spirits, begging permission to film peacefully. In turn, she promised to return the property back to its original state. Unfortunately, this didn’t ease Charlene. Props, car keys, tools, gear, wardrobe and set decorations repeatedly went missing and then would magically reappear. On the final day, Charlene appeared to the producer during clean up. Charlene gazed directly at the producer and then to the house before disappearing. It was a very chilling moment for Megan as she concluded that she’s finally lost her mind.
One of their most memorable crew members was a fluffy and lovable China Chow named Leo. And like every horror movie pet, Leo liked sugar. Now, lets back up a step. All gore FX in Ditch Day Massacre were practical and executed in the lens. This was the demanded goal and vision of the creative team who wanted to make this film gush crimson goodies like the fangtastic 80’s slasher films it belovedly pays homage to. Every cast and crew-member, at some point, ended up covered in the FX guru’s bloody concoction or stewed pig guts. Which brings us to their set dog Leo, who liked to roll in puddles and anything else resembling wet to cool off got past the hot set signs, found a bucket of blood—set where it shouldn’t have been set—plopped down and happily rolled in our fake blood! After which, he ran free-spiritedly through the house, across the carpet and into nicely linen decorated bedrooms. Leo was so doused that the vet—after realizing that he wasn’t mortally wounded—had to be fully shaved. As this is funny now, at the time this was a dark day on set because the owner of the house was considering shutting the production down. In addition, the silver lining in his buzz cut revealed he had what might be skin cancer. It ended up being good fortune that the horror Gods decided to play this little trick on us. The skin blemishes never would have found had he not playfully rolled in the blood.
10 gallons of fake blood was mixed up on set. Husband and wife FX team Josh and Serria Russell kept their blood mix master recipe a secret. Josh Russell is also a talented singer and songwriter. His song “An open letter to Taylor Swift” is featured in the film.
The film was shot in 17 days.
During the final 4 days of production, the crew camped on a remote ranch property. To keep the crew fed, a refrigerator was placed in the middle of the wilderness and plugged into the RV hook-up. It was pretty funny to see a bright white fridge in the middle of the desolate wooded area. Cast and crew both posed with the appliance to commemorate the experience.
None of the actors partaking in the beer-chugging scene had ever shotgunned a beer. The punctured beer cans sprayed everywhere and the cast busted up laughing. The take was used because of it’s authenticity.
LINKS
Ditch Day Massacre Web Site
Check out our interview with Bill Oberst here
For more information, check out Bill Obedrst’s resume at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2454994/
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