Bring on the Damned
Writer and Director: Brandon Bassham
****and 1/2 Stars out of Five.
Forget your A24 or your Neon, even Mubi can’t hold a candle to the true masters of independent cinema, Troma. For over 50 years. Troma has been releasing small budgeted cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and Frankenhooker. This latest feature from director Brandon Bassham(Fear Town USA, & The Slashening) continues this trend with Bring on the Damned. A brilliant horror comedy anthology that explores many different film genres. From film noir to 70’s American Giallo to even French new wave. This movie has it all.
The first chapter deals with Blasphemy in the story, Diagnosis: Satan. When psychiatrist Dr. Sarah Charmichael(Steph Shober) gets hired by a church to see if young girl Jennifer Roth(Amanda Flowers) is truly possessed by a demon or if it’s only in her head. She will have to face something none of her science could prepare her for.
Shot in a found footage/documentary like style. Diagnosis:Satan has some truly fun moments. Especially in scenes when the demon is killing someone, and the camera crew don’t want to interfere and help. The cast balance the humor and the horror very well.
The next chapter deals with obsession and it’s short, Johnnie Lee and Sam. When two men become acquainted over their love to murder and dismember young women. Their friendship gets put to the test when they both set their eyes on the same girl.
Done in a French new wave style. This short is a perverse homage to Jules et Jim by Francios Truffaut. The cast featuring Connor Mccarthy,Patrick Foy, Bimini Lee Wright, and even Narrator Llyod Kaufman all work great. Even if this was my least favorite of the chapters. It’s still a very well done story.
Our third chapter is about Perversion with Disco Inferno. A throwback to late 70’s American Giallo thrillers with movies like Dressed to Kill,and Looking for Mr Goodbar The story follows Charlotte(Sydney Hirsh) a shy girl seeking out her first real orgasm. It turns out killing someone is the best way to help her feel pleasure.
I love that they had this in black and white and even presented it in the 4:3 aspect ratio. Giving it a true tribute to those great film noir classics like Double Indemnity, and The Big Heat. It was especially great not giving the Martians human voices as well.
The last and final chapter is on Sadism and it is my absolute favorite section in the entire film. Tara and the Tigerbabes VSCU(Violent Sex Crime Unit) is a send up of a classic Saturday morning cartoon( later turned into the best movie ever made which you can learn more about by clcking here) mixed with David Fincher’s Se7en. When a killer targets male prostitutes and murders them in ghastly and grisly ways. It’s up to detectives and groovy musicians Tara(Jen Feldy), Harmony(Rachel Francis),and PJ(Kelly Folk) to help solve the case.
I have watched episodes of the cartoon show they are satirizing and they just nail every aspect of that. From the random use of music thrown in to the style of chase scenes all done in one shot. This was a lot of fun to watch.
Overall Bring on the Damned is another fine film in Troma's library and I can't wait for Vol 2.
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Jason "The Vern" Hemming is a prouf member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA). Read other great film reviews by other amazing writers
https://mnfilmcriticsassociation.com/
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