Director:
Jim O'Rear
Studio/Production Company:
Wicked Dreams Entertainment/Allied Horror
Genre:
Horror
Sub-Genre:
Crime
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/screamfarmthemovie
Score:
2.5/5
Veteran indie horror auteur Jim O’Rear’s latest, “Scream Farm” has something for everyone --- unless they don’t like zombie films, mobsters, martial arts or generally pretty bad acting. What O’Rear does have going for him is a thorough understanding of the genre and enough overall film sense to pull off a really cool hybrid of several genres that skillfully employs conventions from all of them.
With zombie films being a staple of the low-budget indie horror scene partly because of their enduring popularity and partly because of the relative simplicity of production that they can afford, the challenge to filmmakers working within the genre –should they even consider accepting the challenge – is to try something new, approach the familiar elements from a fresh perspective, ala the many variations on the theme produced by the master, George Romero or the noble, but little seen “Severed”, which actually managed to be a sensitive, intelligent, even meaningful take on the genre. So, O’Rear gets high marks here: any zombie film that begins with a drug deal gone bad and martial arts battle between mobsters has something going for it. This inciting incident involving a mutant batch of genetically engineered weed that goes missing sets in motion a fast placed plot that focuses on the gang of mobsters (led by O’Rear, in a very convincing performance) searching for the lost stash and winding up in the haunted house set up by a group of students as a fundraiser. In different hands the film could have easily turned into a preachy “just say no” cautionary tale --- “if you smoke that wacky tabacky, you could could turn into a zombie”--- but O’Rear balances the mood nicely, shifting between moments of stoner humor, mobster mayhem (a really well done bullet to the head shot) and slasher horror. While production values are generally decent, with most of the budget probably going to the gore department, cinematography is a bit dodgy, going in and out of focus at times. The heavy metal score gets tiresome quickly and the best thing that can be said about the cast is that they appear to be enjoying themselves, creating an energetic enthusiasm that makes it easy to excuse some of the performances.
Nobody is going to confuse “Scream Farm” with high art --- but anyone who puts on a zombie film with the slightest notion that there might be some sophisticated sense of aesthetics or a rich narrative teeming over with subtext is probably pretty confused to begin with. No, “Scream Farm” is what it is, good, goofy, gory fun.
Jim O'Rear
Studio/Production Company:
Wicked Dreams Entertainment/Allied Horror
Genre:
Horror
Sub-Genre:
Crime
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/screamfarmthemovie
Score:
2.5/5
Veteran indie horror auteur Jim O’Rear’s latest, “Scream Farm” has something for everyone --- unless they don’t like zombie films, mobsters, martial arts or generally pretty bad acting. What O’Rear does have going for him is a thorough understanding of the genre and enough overall film sense to pull off a really cool hybrid of several genres that skillfully employs conventions from all of them.
With zombie films being a staple of the low-budget indie horror scene partly because of their enduring popularity and partly because of the relative simplicity of production that they can afford, the challenge to filmmakers working within the genre –should they even consider accepting the challenge – is to try something new, approach the familiar elements from a fresh perspective, ala the many variations on the theme produced by the master, George Romero or the noble, but little seen “Severed”, which actually managed to be a sensitive, intelligent, even meaningful take on the genre. So, O’Rear gets high marks here: any zombie film that begins with a drug deal gone bad and martial arts battle between mobsters has something going for it. This inciting incident involving a mutant batch of genetically engineered weed that goes missing sets in motion a fast placed plot that focuses on the gang of mobsters (led by O’Rear, in a very convincing performance) searching for the lost stash and winding up in the haunted house set up by a group of students as a fundraiser. In different hands the film could have easily turned into a preachy “just say no” cautionary tale --- “if you smoke that wacky tabacky, you could could turn into a zombie”--- but O’Rear balances the mood nicely, shifting between moments of stoner humor, mobster mayhem (a really well done bullet to the head shot) and slasher horror. While production values are generally decent, with most of the budget probably going to the gore department, cinematography is a bit dodgy, going in and out of focus at times. The heavy metal score gets tiresome quickly and the best thing that can be said about the cast is that they appear to be enjoying themselves, creating an energetic enthusiasm that makes it easy to excuse some of the performances.
Nobody is going to confuse “Scream Farm” with high art --- but anyone who puts on a zombie film with the slightest notion that there might be some sophisticated sense of aesthetics or a rich narrative teeming over with subtext is probably pretty confused to begin with. No, “Scream Farm” is what it is, good, goofy, gory fun.