Old 37 (2015)

Growing up with a fruitcake paramedic father with a taste for blood (he never got over it after the war!), two adult men (horror icons, Kane Hodder and Bill Moseley) were truly effed up by his upbringing, although their mom tried as she might to show them some semblance of family love and affection. Well, the two operate a car salvage yard and on their spare time hunt down wrecking motorists when they dial 911 from in short distance. How do they hunt? By pretending to be paramedics, even owning an ambulance, surprising unsuspecting victims by bringing the ultraviolence, that's how.The movie alternates between flashbacks detailing the ghoulish memories of Hodder and Moseley and Caitlin Harris' gradual transition from cool, individualistic "misfit" (she's not part of the whole popular crowd) to silicone-boobed, blond-colored, desperate-for-attention Heather. There's also high school's It crowd Caitlin is not fond of yet inexplicably decides to eventually mimic…because of a boy, of course! Caitlin and her mom have conversations about the men in their lives, and the eventual boob job gets plenty of rub. Daftly, Caitlin's friend is murdered because of a car stunt involving legs split on two cars while driving at high speeds (the blond diva of the teens feels overshadowed and causes her beau to lose his attention while driving!) and fades into the script's ether…it is included strictly to make the kids who decide to keep it all a secret all the more unfavorable.I could care less about the miscreants that made up the teens, but there is a good bit of attention towards them in the first part of the movie. It is only later that finally the film emphasizes Moseley and Hodder's horrific childhoods (Moseley is definitely warped by the experience, ridiculing Hodder endlessly, even responsible for his facial disfiguring resulting in the wearing of a mouth mask) and gets to them killing folks. Moseley has been pretty much typecast as the backwoods psycho, but he continues to somehow summon the gravitas to make the characters he plays watchable. He's a charismatic presence, no doubt about that. I have to guess he's bored with this by now, though. "Dead Air" (2009) proved he could play a character that is right the opposite to his usual nutjobs, but he's so incredibly busy (just look at his schedule, it is astounding) the money offered beats unemployment, I guess. Hodder will always be employed as long as he brings the menace like he does here. Still, they are actually underused despite their heavy billing in the cast. As far as their extracurricular activities: the violence is mostly out of frame. A saw to the throat squirts blood, but a majority of knife-stabbing and saw dicing is implied not explicitly elaborated…a no-no for those who typically watch this kind of movie. Like horror movies of today, aesthetically, it is all desaturated with brown and grey prevalent…it is all sepia-centric. This has the Alan Smithee title for the director in the credits so it is clear that Christian Winters wasn't fond of the finished product…I think his decision has merit as it is a tale of two movies both fighting for supremacy.

A refreshing horror movie to watch in a genre that seems over commercialized, or over done recently. It's thrilling, captivating, and even has its funny moments. What I like most about OLD 37 is that the plot doesn't drag, yet the gore never fails. The plot of this movie is interesting because it plays into the idea of the anti-hero. I'm also a fan of the plot because it's not cliché in any way. Sometimes I think horror movies can borrow too many ideas from other horror films and it sort of seems like you're watching the same film over and over again. Have no fear, the creativity doesn't lack in this film. Nevertheless, your typical slashing will of course be present.Overall, YOU HAVE TO SEE IT. OLD 37 is the perfect film for Halloween and if you're a horror fan, it surely won't let you down. The opening scene will leave your stomach churning and the ending scene will leave you surprised and asking for more!

Let me tell you - I was lucky enough to be one of the few people who got to watch OLD 37 at a screening in early 2014, and this movie is still as fresh in my mind as if I saw it yesterday. The blood, the gore, the screams - it's all so well crafted that you leave the theater thinking what you saw was not a movie, but was something real right in front of you. The movie was not only well- written, but was filmed beautifully and edited with precision. I would highly recommend watching this if you are a horror fan. This film does not disappoint. Just be warned, you will not want to dial 911 after watching...I can honestly say that I get shivers every time I hear an ambulance's sirens.

I had the pleasure of an early screening at HorrorHound in Ohio where Kane Hodder introduced the film. He said that his 18 year old son did an interview for a documentary recently and said OLD 37 was his favorite movie his Dad (Kane) ever made. That is some high praise before a screening. Kane also went on to praise the team he worked with and talked about his time working with Bill Moseley. What an honor!Then we got to watch it and it delivered, a lot. I got there early and had a chair and the room fit about 500 people and it was full. People were sitting on the floor to watch this movie. Everyone cheered at the end but I wont spoil anything. This film was awesome. Really great kills but mostly a great story. Not something you see in horror everyday. It was also shot really pretty. A step above your average horror. I was able to bring my teenage daughter with me and she really liked it as well. We bought t-shirts and Kane signed them! We cannot wait to get the DVD. Already pre ordered!