SLIME CITY MASSACRE (2010) Review

Directed by: Greg Lamberson
Written by: Greg Lamberson
Starring: Jennifer Bihl, Kealan Patrick Burke, Debbie Rochon, Lee Perkins, Robert C. Sabin, Mary Bogle

"WELCOME TO THE CITY WHERE SLIME NEVER SLEEPS"

With SLIME CITY MASSACRE writer / director Greg Lamberson has managed to create a sequel which is also a prequel to his original film which was released a whopping 22 years earlier. A new time period (two actually) and a (mostly) new cast mark the only major differences from the original film while the rest is a familiar mix of violent, slimy mayhem involving occult leader Zachary Devon's infamous concoctions.

In the wake of a dirty bomb attack, New York City has been evacuated and its only inhabitants now are homeless scavengers (or 'displaced refugees' as they are referred to in the film). A pair of fugitives Alexa (Bihl) and Cory (Burke) looking for shelter in the part of town now known as Slime City, stumble upon a seemingly abandoned building where they run into squatters Mason (Perkins) and Alice (Rochon) who decide to let them stay on account of Cory's impressive set of skeleton keys. While scavenging for food Mason and Cory come across a soup kitchen previously run by Zachary Devon, and inside they find hundreds of bottles of the satanist's home brewed elixir and 'Himalayan Yoghurt'.
Back at their building the two couples chow down on the yoghurt and elixir, go to bed, fuck and unsurprisingly wake up covered with slime and filled with bloodlust.

A decent part of the film is also told through black and white flashbacks, showing scenes that pre-date the original movie and fill in a little of the back story of Zachary Devon and his followers. We witness his first meeting with Nicole as he 'saves' her from her life of prostitution and invites him into his soup kitchen for a meal and a place to belong. It also explains further the moment when Zachary and his followers decide to kill themselves and why Lizzie had to stay behind.
But wait, there's more! A wealthy entrepreneur named Ronald Crump (get it?) has plans to level Slime City so that he can redevelop it, but first he needs to rid it of its transient infestation. His solution? Hire a group of mercenaries to go in and shoot anything that moves. It's all very ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX, and there's nothing wrong with that because that movie rocks.

The political and religious commentaries are obvious in SLIME CITY MASSACRE. A war over oil? Check. Abortions declared illegal? Check. Rich businessman wants to cleanse the city of the bottom-dwelling lower class? Check. Incestuous religious cult? Double check. There's also a really neat STREET TRASH reference, no doubt thrown in due to all of the comparisons people have made in the past.
Almost everything in this sequel outdoes the original, the acting is better, the production values are better, the locations are better, and even the no-boobs issue from the first movie is rectified here. Fans of the original will enjoy the cameos from the original actors and Troma fans will love the trashy vibe and the brief appearance of uncle Lloyd. The only real shame is that the ending doesn't pack anywhere near as powerful a punch as that of the original movie did. But it's still fucking fun.

EL MONSTRO DEL MAR (2010) Review

Directed by: Stuart Simpson
Written by: Stuart Simpson
Starring: Nelli Scarlet, Karli Madden, Kate Watts, Kyrie Capri, Norman Yemm

"THEY WERE TOLD NEVER TO GO INTO THE WATER. NOW THE SEA WILL RISE IN A TIDE OF BLOOD"

Sexy sirens face off against an ancient Lovecraftian sea beast!
It sounds almost too good to be true but EL MONSTRO DEL MAR is an Australian creature feature that pays homage to classic Meyer-esque exploitation and ye olde monster movies while simultaneously delivering buckets of blood and gore. Now that's a combo I can really fucking dig.

Beretta (Scarlet), Blondie (Madden) and Snowball (Watts) are three femme fatales on the run after some serious serious shit went down (it's never crystal clear exactly what happened) and a lot of blood was spilled. In a stark black and white scene reminiscent of Russ Meyer's classic FASTER PUSSYCAT the vixens wait by their broken down car until they see another vehicle coming their way. The vixens seduce the two men inside before slicing their throats and commandeering their car. Arriving at a shack by the ocean the three girls decide to lay low until the heat dies down. But if the old wheelchair-bound local Joseph (Yemm) is to be believed they might be safer trying the luck with the law. He warns them not to go in the water but they don't listen and soon they wake an ancient evil lurking deep beneath the waves. Together with 'ol Joseph and his granddaughter Hannah (Capri) the girls have to find a way to defeat the creature.

EL MONSTRO DEL MAR is a grindhouse collage constructed from bits and pieces of classic seedy Russ Meyer and 50s monster movies with a B-movie style that Roger Corman would be proud of. It's low budget and it does nothing to try and hide the fact. It's far from original but rather than holding the film back this familiarity is part of what makes it so entertaining. This isn't the kind of movie you watch for character development and intricate story arcs, this is the type of film you watch when you want to see sultry babes, low budget monsters and generous lashings of the red stuff. And it has plenty of that. Unfortunately what it also has is a lagging midsection which makes the relatively short running time (just over 70 minutes) seem a lot longer.

The movie starts off with a pretty rad introduction, some rocking music and a neat transition to color via a slit throat. It also has a nicely gory and action packed final act, but the middle waffles on for too long with unnecessary dialogue and it takes more time than it probably should before the sea beast makes an appearance. Thankfully at least a nice chunk of this slow middle is spent showing the attractive leading ladies swimming, drinking and partying, which is nice.
But apart from that there really isn't a lot to complain about. The performances aren't the greatest but then when does anybody actually care about stellar acting in a B-movie? And every now and then some of the monster's 'tentacles' may look suspiciously like sock puppets... but I found that funny rather than distracting.
It would have been nice if the girls' backstory was explained a little more (perhaps making use of that slow midsection) and there was a missed opportunity with a romance which ultimately goes nowhere, but as it stands EL MONSTRO DEL MAR is a really fun, really stylish flick. It has babes, blood and beasts and if that isn't an enjoyable combo then I don't know what is.