Habit
April 13, 2009 by Fun With Cats · Leave a Comment
When Sam meets Anna, his alcoholic delusions lead him to believe she is a vampire. His dilemma becomes a struggle with sanity, truth and fiction, all the while straining his relationships with friends and family.
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star I LOVE vampire movies - I fell ASLEEP during this one….
It has a “home movie” feel, which I normally like - however, “Habit” completely drags on in almost every scene. I normally agree with the consensus of reviewers, but this movie was just painfully slow. I did not find the movie scary, creepy, intelligent or “B movie” campy in any way….. Have some fun and re-watch Bram Stokers Dracula - no comparison!
3 Stars What did I get from this film? #1: Never drink around vampires
I support local filmmaking. I support the independent artist that wants to express himself/herself in the cinematic way. What I enjoy with the independent artist is their way of expressing the already known. For example, one of my favorite films is the independent sci-fi time travel piece called “Primer”, you may or may not have heard of it. The reason that I enjoy it so much is because it takes an old idea (that of time travel) and redefines it. It recreates the wheel that Hollywood seems to cannot seem to do without CGI and actors with too much money. It was exciting then to get Larry Fessenden’s original student film “Habit” except with a bigger budget and after being immersed in the game a bit longer. Fessenden’s newer version of “Habit” gives us more gore, more scenery, and more … well … nudity than originally envisioned. He takes the typical “vampire” wheel (a story that we have seen in countless films) and recreates - giving us a modern day horror that is built upon both mythological lore as well as personal demons. During the course of 112 minutes, a great story is unfolded before our eyes - alas, it isn’t the most powerful of stories, nor is it the most well-acted of stories, but it has something most Hollywood big-budget films seem to lack today , that is heart and substance.
Fessenden, who not only does work behind the camera, but also as the main character named Sam, gives us a glimpse of New York city circa 1990. Times seem to be tough, Sam works nights as a bartender and has found (after the death of his dad), that drinking dulls most of the pains. One of our first introductions with Sam is at a party, where he arrives drunk and continues to drink throughout the course of the evening. It is during this party that we meet the somewhat sensual Anna, who immediately locks target with Sam. She entrances him similar to what Dracula did to Miss Mina, but in an eerie role reversal. They continue their gathering outside, but in Sam’s drunken stupor, he misses the opportunity to connect with Anna. Not to worry vampire lovers, they reconnect after Anna supposedly snacks on one of Sam’s friends - and the two begin a very physical courtship. Oddly, Anna only appears at night, away from friends, and will not tell Sam anything about her. She bits his lip, he thins its foreplay. It dramatically changes when Sam seems to get sick over time, forgetting the simplest of tasks, and eventually driving himself mad with scenarios of what Anna may be doing to him. Of coarse, nobody believes him, so not only does he battle with Anna’s vying but also with his friends who seem to believe he is slowly going mad, which becomes the eventual focus to this film. We are left with this surprising question in our minds as Fessenden ends with anything but your moment of zen.
I would like to begin by saying that I thought this was an extremely strong outing for a low-budget director. I wasn’t hoping for Troma level, and I didn’t get it. I wasn’t hoping for another repeat of “Def By Temptation”, and thankfully it never showed. What I witnessed with this film was an innovated director reinventing an old genre. Hollywood continues every year to do this type of story, but their moments seem stale and recycled more than innovative and classic. Fessenden uses his mind and truly makes a terrifying film that questions the basics of the vampire genre and relates them to modern cinema. It is almost like a horror version of “Fight Club” except not as strong. He uses violence, nudity, and realism to bring this fictional story into the light of New York City taking us to places that are familiar and at most, extremely spooky. This is not a bad film, but I cannot boast that it is perfect. It is continually flawed, forcing your to focus on the story because at times the acting is laughable at best and his “A to B to C” logic seems too overloaded and detailed. The acting, outside of the verbal slandering of Aaron Beall’s Nick, was just poor. This could have been tightened up a bit to create stronger scenes between the characters. I thought Sam was “acting” like he was drunk more than he was, the moments of intimacy seemed to be wanted instead of needed, and as we get closer to the end, the moments between Nick and Rae seem distant and lost. Strength in the words would have tightened up this loose end.
Secondly, I had trouble with parts of the story. I don’t want to disregard what Fessenden has done here because I think it is a strong moment in cinematic glory, but just small ends that needed to be less loose. He started so strong with “Habit” that he couldn’t keep the momentum flowing until the end. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when he walks by a artist doing nude photos at night - a moment that seems similar to the movie that we are watching, but I loose it when he goes to Rae’s grandmother’s house and the Thanksgiving dinner there. Fessenden also seems a bit loose on the entire “loosing his father” moments that seem to peak in and out of existence throughout the film. I think that it helps us understand Sam’s moments of insanity - especially near the end - but we needed more spent towards his father than at the ocean with friends. There just seemed to be an unbalance in the force. There are my only two complaints about the film (outside the fact I wished there was a director commentary), because I think Fessenden can do a decent job - just don’t go off focus.
Overall, I would suggest this film to only a select number of friends - those that appreciate the cinematic art. I say this because to the unwilling eye, this will look like a cheap “B” horror film that teeters on nothing, but I saw so much more than that. I saw a skilled director revisiting his old work to bring back into the public eye. This is a great film about vampires, or at least the idea of vampires - but it is not for everyone. It leaves the story open-ended, giving us a chance to make decisions for ourselves and that, in itself, is what creates the true horror.
Oh, what about that goofy video that didn’t seem to fit with the film - I guess I could do without that again, but I digress…
Grade: *** out of *****
4 Stars Vampire Love Story
I highly recommend this movie to all the vampire lovers out there. It is a very realistic, modern day love story, set in NYC. PLEASE be careful about who you may pick up at a halloween party!
5 Stars East Village captured.
Best capture of NY’s East Village in it’s hey day yet. Snaider is amazing.
4 Stars Sexy, Smart, and Very Well Made
Larry Fessenden is an excellent director. I appreciated HABIT very much, having sat through numerous weak, lumbering yawners in the Vampire genre. Fessenden surprised me with this film by delivering a smart, well-written, well-acted indie film. The best thing about HABIT is that I believed every plot twist and every line of dialog. I got hooked in… wanting to see what happened next as the movie moved forward.
The cinematography and editing are dreamlike, giving the film a feverish tone. The acting, especially from star/director Fessenden, is dead on.
The use of an urban setting also makes this vamp pic unique… the gritty, grim city imagery adds tension to the drama.
This is excellent independent filmmaking and a very well executed horror movie. Buy it!
Black Cat Run
April 13, 2009 by Fun With Cats · Leave a Comment
A carload of escaped convicts just slaughtered the sheriff and kidnapped his daughter. Now they’re heading for the border and the cops think Johnny did it! With the cops shooting first and asking questions later, Johnny’s got a choice: Take the killer’s bullet up front, or get shot in the back by the cops. Get ready for the Black Cat Run!
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars fun
Bought this a couple of years ago for someone. Watched the whole movie and it was fairly tolerable to sit through. It was a gift for a young person used to living out in the sticks pretty much. It is probably extremely entertaining for those living the life of the movie, “The Deliverance”.
3 Stars A mystery film to collect
for people who like to collect films like this, I recommend it, is not bad or good, but its content is something that draws attention, to see it everywhere I had to buy it I do not regret any, for my taste of hundred mysterious is good, because it was very mysterious success on the big screen
3 Stars DUMB PEOPLE DOING DUMB THINGS AGAIN
It’s hard to believe that the man who wrote the screenplays for THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE penned this overblown action movie. Frank Darabont’s screenplay focuses on one Johnny Dell Grissom, a handsome young race driver, who has been saving his winnings so he could go to college and make something of his life. His father is an ex-con who runs a gas station and he’s in love with the daughter of the local redneck sheriff, who doesn’t want his Sarah Jane to have anything to do with his youngun. Sarah Jane is also desired by the sheriff’s even redder deputy, Norm. As the movie opens, however, we meet a bunch of really vile prisoners who murder their guards and escape. Lo and behold, they run into the sheriff, kill him right in front of his daughter’s eyes, but who gets the blame? Johnny, of course. From hereon, it’s a chase movie, with some exciting chase scenes, but nothing new. All the main characters do dumb things that even make their actions dumber. Johnny and Norm for the most part. Patrick Muldoon brings his stoic, boyish charm to the role of Johnny, but it’s not his most rewarding role; Amelia Heinle (Earth vs. the Spider) is credible as the kidnapped Sarah Jane; Jake Busey overplays Norm to the point of incredulity; Peter Greene as the nasty head villain is very good in his icy role; Kevin J. O’Connor reprises his whiny geek role he mastered in The Mummy; and Jeffrey DeMunn gives a good performance as Johnny’s dad.
D.J. Caruso’s direction is inconsistent; the pace slows; picks up; slows down again; it doesn’t help this average movie.
4 Stars Wonderful Action and Drama Film
If you like action as well as drama, you will love this film. I was amazed at the camera angles in the action scenes. This film was made for HBO, and so most films of this nature do not have the budget to do all the necessary action scenes to potential. However, this one did. The main character in the film is a race car driver. After a prison break, the felons along with the girlfriend of one of them, run for their lives.
I especially loved the fact that the girlfriend was not only pursued by her boyfriend, but also by one of the cops hunting the convicts. He has a great attraction for her, and if she would just be his, his life would be grand. This subplot joins all the other subplots to make a film you will enjoy, especially if you watch it at night.
I was impressed by the amount of explosions in this movie. There were not too many, just enough. This movie reminded me of James Bond films, with a touch of small town sheriffs and maybe some Bonnie and Clyde mixed in.
I know you will love this film, and the only thing I didn’t like about it is when I watching I had no sense of time. I thought it had only been on for 30 minutes when it was over. Looked at the clock, and it had been almost 2 hours.
There were a few slow moments in the film, but that was to be expected, considering almost every film today has slow moments. Those did not distract, and I barely noticed them. As soon as I did, something juicy would happen in the film.
You won’t go wrong with this one.
2 Stars Action? … Where?
I caught the first 70 minutes of this lame so-called “action” flick on late-night TV. The reason I sat down to watch was the high-paced scene near the beginning of the film where four prisoners escape from a work crew and drive off in a stolen car. “What the heck,” I thought. “It shows promise.” Then, when the movie had reeled me in, it subjected me to the longest 30-minute wait of my life.
NOTHING happens for half an hour. NOTHING. The protagonist, a race-car driver, is introduced, along with his girlfriend (who becomes a hostage), the competing love interest (a small-town cop), and several bit characters who basically disappear from the film once the action gets going. It’s like the film-maker fell asleep. When you’ve just seen someone get shot through the stomach in slow motion within the first five minutes of the film, that sets the pace for what you expect … and the movie shatters that expectation completely by subjecting you to the soap-opera lives of the Del Grissoms and their hick-town neighbors.
The film picks up again near the end, but it’s too little, too late. The movie would have benefited greatly from some serious editing: build more suspense in the first half, and add more plot advancement to the second half, instead of taking them one at a time and completely switching gears halfway through.
Father Knows
April 13, 2009 by Fun With Cats · Leave a Comment
This is the same version that is selling exclusively on TLA…the one sporting the “Full Monty”.
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star Keep Seaching - There is nothing here.
“Father Knows” has to be one of the worst films I have ever seen. The acting was horrible and after viewing, I was puzzled as to why anyone (except the producer maybe) would put up funding for this trash. I am hard pressed to find one good redeming quality. For God’s sakes keep away - life is too short.
1 Star Holy Moly…stick to porn, Toby!
Possibly the worst film I have ever seen. Shot directly onto video, it’s like watching a porn flick without the porn, with a cringe value of ten. A talentless cast portraying totally unbelievable charcacters, ridiculous plot, zero production values. Twenty minutes into it and I was ready to switch it off, which I did. I decided to wait until the next day to view the balance of it, to give the filmmaker the benfeit of the doubt, and still had to switch it off after another grueling twenty minutes. Worse than Chinese water torture!
1 Star I don’t get it
Bad acting, writing, and film quality. Watch the movie Shelter*****, Latter Days*****; The Trip****; Boy Culture****; Rock Haven****; even Coffee Date***. These directors, producers, and Actors have brains, and it shows in their work. Even though you have a small budget, just keep true to the story. It will be enough to carry us through to the end.
1 Star Father Knows…Not Much
“Father Knows” is–simply put–awful. Toby Ross, former adult film director, takes a stab at mainstream and misses the mark by a very wide margin. Supposedly about relationships (I guess; I couldn’t really tell), the characters are as cardboard as they come–along with the acting. If ANYONE can believe the “friend” could channel Zelda Reubenstein, then they could also believe that I’m Brad Pitt’s body double. Characters come and go, have little substance to them, and add nothing to this movie. Poignant, heart-tugging: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Although listed as 74 minutes long, you’ll swear you’ve just sat through a double feature. This movie is unrated and has some nudity and language…and that’s about all it has.
1 Star Amateur hour
For a director who has supposedly done many porn films, this weak effort shows no signs of anyone having any film experience, except, oddly enough, the lead actor from the porn industry.
Bad writing, bad direction, atrocious acting (with the noted exception), and a badly paced film don’t add up to enough to recommend a purchase by anyone except “bad film” lovers.
I give small, independent films a break at all levels, but there’s nothing to recommend here folks…move along and be happy you did.
Life and Lyrics
April 13, 2009 by Fun With Cats · Leave a Comment
Throughout the cutthroat underground Hip-Hop scene, loyalties and rivalries run deep in this highly charged romance, driven by a pulse-pounding soundtrack featuring fierce DJ battles. When an overpowering attraction brings together the sexy singer Carmen and DJ Danny “D-Biz” Lewis (Ashley Walters,: Bullet Boy, Get Rich or Die Tryin’) from rival crews, tensions grow razor-sharp, and beef ensues. The star-cross’d lovers’ intense passion is put to the test when their crews face off against each other at a huge freestyle mixing battle.
Alley Cats
April 13, 2009 by Fun With Cats · Leave a Comment
The swinging Sixties have never looked so sexy, fun and erotic as in Radley Metzger’s second solo feature The Alley Cats! When Leslie, a member of Europe’s wealthy swinging set, feels ignored by her fiancee Logan (who is in the midst of a tempestuous affair with Leslie’s friend Agnes) she decides to do some swinging herself. Her first lover, the suave, debonair Christian, pleases her greatly, but is soon called away on business. Frustrated, Leslie responds to the advances of Irena, a beautiful lesbian socialite. Soon she must choose between her fiancee Logan and her awakened lesbian feelings. This newly remastered video, presented in widescreen Ultrascope, features a scintillating, jazzy lounge music soundtrack and the original theatrical trailer.
