Movie Review: Krampus (2015)

Before watching The League on FX, I had never heard of Krampus.  But after hearing Jon LaJoie's character Taco singing Krampus carols and running around the mall chasing children as the fabled devil beast, I knew we needed a movie.

The previews for this film made Krampus look like a fun horror film.  The movie is also rated PG-13 so I figured this would make for a fun daddy/daughter day on Christmas Eve.  With everything being Star Wars at the movie theaters, it wasn't hard to find a seat.  The theater was actually empty until a couple of minutes into the film.

The two of us had a great time watching Krampus.  It was a fun horror film that included some recognizable stars along with some new faces.  Prior to seeing Adam Scott cast in this film, I was wondering what direction the film would go.  I was glad to see there was a level of humor to go along with scary parts.

Krampus doesn't travel alone and his helpers made this movie even more insanely fun.  Demented clown looking beasts, psychotic ginger bread men and evil elves assisted Krampus against the family that were not in the Christmas spirit.

Emjay Anthony was the real star of this movie as he was the one who started out with the most amount of Christmas spirit.  As more family members showed up to the home, his spirit becomes broken and a great storm comes along.  This is where things go downhill for all of them.


Although not a huge cast, every member of the cast mattered in their own way for Krampus.  Michael Dougherty did well directing the film and giving screen time to each actor.  Adam Scott and Toni Collette played the parts of parents to Emjay Anthony and Stefania LaVie Owen's characters.  David Koechner and Allison Tolman's redneck-type characters brought along their children and surprise everyone with Aunt Dorothy played by Conchata Ferrell.

While I said Emjay Anthony was the star, it is because of his interactions with Krista Stadler as his grandmother.  She is well aware of Krampus as you can tell by the way she talks in trailer for the film.  She gives us backstory to Krampus which is told through an animated flashback, which seems to be the way you do flashbacks nowadays.

If you're looking for some scary holiday fun, give Krampus a shot.  I know it's not Gremlins, but it's worth checking out.  I'll give Krampus three and a half out of five pile drivers.

Maskerpiece Theatre is sponsored by MoviePass. See unlimited movies at a theater near you for a low monthly rate.

You can also support our show by using our Amazon banners or donating on our Support Us page.

Movie Review: The Lazarus Effect (2015)

David Gelb directs this film about medical students who have found a way to bring the dead back to life.  This isn't a zombie film like Re-Animator since the dead come back fully functional, or so it seems.

The Lazarus formula had been in development for quite some time when there is finally a breakthrough in their testing.  Animals were the first subjects and when it finally worked, the results came as quite a surprise.  The formula not only brings the dog Rocky back to life there seem to be some unexpected side effects.  The Lazarus formula is put to the test later in the film when an unfortunate accident puts a friend in death's way.

Dream sequences lead you into a backstory that helps put the film together and expound on the motivation behind Olivia Wilde's character Zoe.  The limited amount of people in the cast really helps this movie as, with only an hour and twenty three minutes of run time, you have just enough time to get who they are and why they are important in their respective roles.

Overall, The Lazarus Effect is an enjoyable film.  The build-up was done well and the action goes right up through to the end.  Starring Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger and Donald Glover.  If you're in the mood for horror, this isn't a bad flick garnering 3 out of 5 Pile Drivers.

This blog came from an earlier post on Cinema Head Cheese and you can read more of my movie reviews there.

Maskerpiece Theatre is sponsored by MoviePass. See unlimited movies at a theater near you for a low monthly rate.

You can also support our show by using our Amazon banners or donating on our Support Us page.

Box Office Review: Goosebumps

 A good friend, who chats, texts and emails movie reviews and news with me, sent me his review for the new "Goosebumps" film starring Jack Black. I trust you'll enjoy his review as much as I enjoyed reading it. Ladies and Gentlemen, a Maskerpiece Theatre guest writer, Alec the Great and his "Goosebumps" Box Office Review!

Be sure to comment below and share your thoughts. 

A Goosebumps movie in late October…and it stars Jack Black…Can’t miss, right? Well, sort of.  This movie has a lot going for it.  Creature effects by the very talented Fazil Ahmed (Guardians of the Galaxy and Dracula Untold) and direction by Rob Letterman (Gulliver’s Travels and Monsters vs. Aliens) I should have loved this movie, but I left the theatre feeling…well, not much.  It was intense and exciting.  It was decently acted by all parties.  Jack Black, of Tenacious D, plays a reclusive R. L. Stine (as well as voice acting a couple of monsters).  Perhaps the issue is that I walked in with high hopes.

The concept of the film is similar to another film I really enjoyed, Inkheart.  An author’s characters and creations, literally fly off the page and take on lives of their own.  Here, let me explain it, no there is too much, let me sum up.  R. L. Stine (Jack Black) is living a quiet life in a small town with his daughter (Odeya Rush).  A young high-schooler (Dylan Minenette) moves next door with his mother, who just got a job at the local high school (the one the boy attends, oh the high school embarrassment) and on his first day he meets a Fogel-esque (yes I just made up a word referencing Superbad) friend (Ryan Lee), who in his own cowardly way worms his way into the movie with some pretty impressive, girlish shrieking. Boy meets Girl, and monster-based hijinks ensue.

First off, I will admit that my only experience to the Goosebumps books was reading them as a teenage camp counselor to my campers at summer camp, so my knowledge of the Goosebumps Cannon is not prolific.  I was not geeking out to see creatures I had only read spooky stories about brought to magnificent life on the big screen.  I was excited based on the previews, which, from my perspective, demonstrated a Jack Black portrayal of R. L. Stine that in Pied Piper fashion, lead the three Children on a Willy Wonkian tale of pure imagination.  That was not the Jack Black that I witnessed.  He was a semi-reserved eccentric, but never wacky, lonely man who simply wanted to rationally deal with an irrational problem and keep the children safe.  He was excitable, but frankly, I expected School of Rock Jack Black and I got Professor Jack Black, Esquire.  That said, the children were fantastic and these young actors did an amazing job bringing reality to an insane situation.  They were quirky, but believable.  Future big-named stars the lot of them if there is any justice.

I had high expectations, but in the end, it was an hour and forty-three minutes of movie.  It was entertaining, but not great, and it looked great.  I wanted to be able to tell people, “You have to see this movie!”  Alas, the best I can bring myself to is, “Meh.”  I give it one ghoul and one giant mutant praying mantis.  If you are an avid Goosebumps fan, go see this movie, if not, go see Hotel Transylvania 2: You will laugh more, have more quotables after-the-fact, and generally, a better experience.

Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save As..." to download.

Please support our show by clicking the links to our Sponsors.

Box Office Review: The Visit

Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan brings us "The Visit" which is his 11th film as a director of the horror meets bizarre style that only he can deliver. He made this film with Blumhouse, a smaller independent film company, who specialize in horror. It was a step in a new direction as Shyamalan usually is connected with big production companies with incredible budgets. M. Night working with an independent company was intriguing considering smaller budgets can lend themselves to more creative storytelling with this particular genre of film, unfortunately, it didn't feel as creative as the potential led me to believe it would be.

Two kids take a vacation to their grandparents house and decide to document the entire trip using their cameras and creativity. Shortly after arriving they come to realize that things at the house aren't as normal as they would prefer and danger ensues.

This film is shot "found footage" style and that didn't really help it at all. The story was choppy, as one would expect from found footage, but it never seemed to connect plot points and often left other plot points unexplained. The premise that after 930pm you aren't allowed out of your rooms is explained because the grandmother, played by Deanna Dunagan, acts like an overly drunk home repair specialist sanding a door, throwing up in the kitchen and scrubbing the floors on all fours while running into walls. This is all fine except for the fact she acts like the Hansel and Gretel witch before 930 at one point and also chases the kids under the house acting just as psychotic, again before sunset. For whatever reason it's revealed that she doesn't wear underpants, much to the disgust of myself since I, literally, was the only person in the theater when I saw this.

The grandfather, played by Peter McRobbie, has his own singularly bizarre habit of shitting himself and throwing the diapers away in a shed out in the yard, where he seemingly collects them for the reason of... being able to refer to his shed as a shitty shed? Your guess is as good as mine. I found no reason for this in the story except for near the very end he takes a diaper he just shit in and rubs it in his grandsons face, played by Ed Oxenbould.

The mother, played by Kathryn Hahn, is having a video chat with the kids at the peak of weirdness towards the very end of the film where it's revealed the grandparents aren't actually the grandparents but strangers the mother doesn't know. So after this week of being at the grandparents house we discover these aren't the grandparents... REALY?!?! I found this incredibly difficult to believe considering grandparents usually write letters and mail photographs each holiday. The idea the kids haven't seen the grandparents in person in awhile is believable. However... NOT KNOWING WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AT ALL is beyond ridiculous and was the moment that the theater was filled with laughter, my laughter. After all, I was the only person in the theater.

I don't recommend this film to anyone and if the film appears on television I recommend you watch a dvd or blu-ray or youtube or play a game or read a book or clean your bathroom. All of these activities are better than wasting your time with this movie.

I give it nothing more than a scathing review. What a piece of garbage.

Please support our show by clicking the links to our Sponsors.