The Hills Run Red (2009)

This film is kind of good, and kind of not good at all. There's plenty of gore, plenty of boobs, plenty of suspense, but then you've seen this kind of film before. Many a time. Or maybe not. Who am I to tell you what you've seen? Then again, here's the plot: A bunch of teens or twenty-somethings head off into the wilderness for some stupid reason (tracing family, searching for a long lost film, that kind of crap) and because we're in the Facebook age on of them has to film everything. They head into nowhere and are killed off/tied up/tortured/eaten in various gory ways, like Wrong Turn, Bunnyman Massacre etc etc. Not a single bit of this film struck me as original, but then again it's pretty well made and acted, so I'm in two minds about what grade to give it.Then I remembered that no one gives a crap about what I think anyway! Yahoo - Yorgen! Peanuts smell good. Hardy har.

An overzealous film student wants to make a documentary about the iconic status of a slasher film made in 1982 but never released due to it's violent content, and when he finds one of the actresses from the original movie, his documentary takes an interesting twist.Usually with movies like this, the filmmakers say they're paying homage to something, but they are just making a parody. The hills Run Red seem to know the difference.I loved how the movie tackles all of the slasher cliché's like going into the woods alone with no protection and no way to contact the outside world. It takes a little jab at the die hard audience who love this genre as well. Also loved the concept of the new slasher they came up with, Baby face. Everything about him screamed icon.It's very Texas Chainsaw in it's craziest, and it has a lot of real decent twist and turns that keep you guessing to the last frame without being too jumbled up with sub stories.Plus, it has nudity. It's a crazy movie to sit though, but well worth it.

A group of young horror film fans led by the earnest and obsessive Tyler (a solid and likable performance by Tad Hilgenbrink) venture into the deep woods in search of the location where a legendary "lost" splatter fright flick was shot twenty years ago. The group discover that the killer in said feature is the real deadly deal and more than happy to meet new aficionados who are willing to die for his art. Director Dave Parker, working from a sick, compact, and ingenious script by David J. Schow, relates the absorbing story at a brisk pace, creates and sustains not only a genuinely creepy atmosphere, but also a strong feeling of dread and a good deal of tension, delivers a generous sprinkling of yummy bare distaff skin as well as a handy helping of graphic and unflinching in-your-face nasty gore, and tosses in shocking elements of snuff, torture, and incest to further spice up an already tasty'n'twisted cinematic stew. Better still, Parker maintains a grimly serious take-no-prisoners sensibility that becomes more increasingly bleak, dark, and unsettling as the harsh plot unfolds a powerfully disturbing surprise bummer ending. The fine acting from the capable cast rates as another sterling asset: William Sadler contributes a top-rate turn as deranged and reclusive director Concannon, gorgeous blonde Sophie Monk likewise excels as the equally unhinged, but sexy and enticing psycho junkie slut Alexa, Danko Jordanov cuts a scary figure as ferocious disfigured killer Babyface, plus there's sound work by fetching brunette Janet Montgomery as the sassy Serina and Alex Wyndham as the sarcastic Lalo. The startling outbursts of raw brutal violence pack a savage kick to the gut. Ilan Rosenberg's sharp cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. Frederick Wiedmann's shuddery score does the bone-rattling trick. Recommended viewing for slice'n'dice fans.

Back in the 1980s famous great horror aficionado Wilson Wyler Concannon (William Sadler) was renowned for no movies whatsoever apart from one that wasn't even released, as it went missing. That movie is "The Hills Run Red", a story about Baby-Face, a guy who cut off his own face and sewed on a dolls mask to replace it and soon afterwards goes on a horror rampage. Enticed by the story and hoping that it becomes his own claim to fame aspiring director Tyler (Tad Hilgenbrink) decides to track down the long lost picture and its infamous director. This leads him to Concannon's daughter Alexa (the beautiful and oft naked Sophie Monk), now working as a stripper in a biker's pub. After convincing her to partake in his endeavour he takes a camera and two filmmaker friends to retake that which had been forgotten.Dark Castle Entertainment has an unrivaled gift of releasing crappy horror flicks in succession with the odd gem hidden behind a cascade of crappiness. This one unfortunately flows down straight to the gutter together with flicks such as "The Reaping" or "Thirteen Ghosts". The main flaw of all these seems to be exceptionally poor character development and script inadequacies substituted by extreme gore. This time around we actually have a lot of promise in the movie, which runs like a "Friday the Thirteen" ripoff for large parts of its runtime, only to counterpoint this with some "Scream" type movie references. Some scenes hilariously hit the spot, with Baby-Face's out-of-character response to one of the hapless victims a delightful highlight of this otherwise poor movie.Despite some admirable qualities the twist introduced two-thirds into the movie largely fails. In a big part due to the incapability of William Sadler and Sophie Monk to carry their roles. Their bickering about the art of horror films is irritating and badly written, which doesn't help in the plot resolution, as this was the issue that would either carry or drown the movie (especially the poorly scripted debate between old-fashioned slashers and modern gorno).It isn't entirely a waste of time and those fans of over-the-top gore (occasionally going into gorno territory), but given the limited emotional involvement and the sub-par payoff it seems like a wasted opportunity for a decent horror. As it is I would suggest passing and seeking out the Rob Zombie "House of 1000 Corpses".