Movie Review: Butterfly Kisses (2017)

Butterfly Kisses (2017) - USA (Maryland) - Documentary Horror - NR

Directed by Erik Kristopher Myers

Featuring Gavin York, Matt Lake (himself), Eduardo Sánchez (himself)

Want to scare the hell out of yourself?

No need to bother... this film will do it for you.

In an unusual move on my part, being I don't believe I've done this before, I am changing the usual format of my review. Mainly because this is how I wrote my review and feel the more freeform style fits better with film I'm reviewing anyway.

Fear's greatest resource, the very essence of its existence, is the unknown. From childhood we scare ourselves with stories. We tell of legends and folk tales of things that will happen if we say someone's name so many times and look into a mirror. It's amazing how many legends involve mirrors and reflections, the ability to catch a glimpse of something that nobody else sees. But in today's high tech world of digital video is it possible to catch that fleeting moment of the unknown beyond the mirror? Or like a reflection in a mirror will others not see the same thing?

Gavin more than asks that question as he is about to come face to face with it. A filmmaker whose very existence is doing wedding videos stumbles upon a box of older digital video tapes. On the tapes is a story about to unfold of two film students exploring a local legend called Peeping Tom, and of the tragic consequences of encountering it. Or is it?

Found footage films are nothing new, especially in horror movies where the mystery behind the found footage has something even more frightening to reveal. First used as a plot device in the 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust it would come into its own sub-genre with the wildly successful 1999 film The Blair Witch Project.

"Found footage" though is not really an appropriate category for Butterfly Kisses as it takes a different approach in documenting Gavin's excursion into making a found footage film based on this box of tapes he claims to have found that were made 10 years previous and had its own investigation into the supernatural involving this folk/urban legend known variously as Peeping Tom or simply Blink. And that "claims to have found" becomes a central part of the documentary for as compelling and frightening as is the footage, getting people to believe him, and even the audience to believe him, is an additional tension beyond the horror of the story at hand.

Gavin faces many obstacles in trying to get support for his film project in even the most basic level of getting people to believe him. You know you are up against a wall when believers in the implausible, between marathon sessions with boxes of Twinkies and recounting past glory days as 8th level paladins and wizards, mock you.

The found footage itself is analyzed by various experts in their particular fields including video editors, psychologists, as well interviews are conducted with noted folklore expert Matt Lake, author of Weird Maryland and others in the series, and Eduardo Sánchez, director of The Blair Witch Project.

In taking in the subject of a legend, of folklore, perhaps even more than ghosts, you may have to ask yourself if you believe in non-corporeal entities? Legends are at their core simply that... stories. It's hard to pin an origin on a legend or even associate it with an historical context or person. It is simply other-worldly.

Ghosts are one thing. Lots of people believe in spirits that walk the earth. Of course lots of these same people believe in fairy tales and things like god. And that's despite that the two beliefs are diametrically opposed. There is a potential of psychometric imaging of events, especially tragic events, but events have no consciousness, and for a spirit to have a will and an intent there would have to be a consciousness.

But what about something that never existed outside of tales and legends? Something that existed, was invented perhaps, out of stories and fears, and things we use to scare little children under the pretense to get them to behave rather than admitting to feeding our own sadistic cravings. Is it possible for something to spring from a collective consciousness?

D. Scott Rogo was a psychical research investigator and journalist, as well a contributing editor to Fate magazine. He purported certain theories of sightings being a projection of the observer and was generally open-ended about survival of consciousness after death, preferring to examine the evidence itself rather than pell mell taking the evidence as certifiable proof. He also researched into the question of whether religion can be something we're born with.

If religion through the ages can be infused into our genetics, we can project very real, to us, corporeal images and even interactions into a physical plane, is it feasible life, essentially consciousness, can be given to a folklore? Of course we'll never be able to ask D. Scott Rogo his opinion on this question as he was murdered in 1990 at the age of 40...

...and it has never been solved.

Butterfly Kisses stays true to its documentary format as everything on screen is on camera or otherwise part of the documentary. There is a vague linear timeline in that the events concerning Gavin follow chronologically, but to up the tension the documentary takes forays into different aspects of the found footage exploring angles from a hoax to terrifying moments that will bring you out of your seat. I would highly recommend emptying ones bladder before sitting down to watch the film.

It is a tense and frightening film that will not only render killing somebody who tries to sneak up on you while watching it as justifiable homicide, maybe even a misdemeanor, it may even have you questioning just how real the unreal can be. And unlike so many horror films that have a good build-up and sputter out in the end, Butterfly Kisses is consistent throughout.

My Rating: 5 Fingers, I give it a high five!

Movie Review: Bus Party to Hell (2018)

Bus Party to Hell (2018) - USA - Horror Comedy - Mature (Most Definitely)

Directed by Rolfe Kanefsky

Story by Michael Mahal and Sonny Mahal

Starring Tara Reid, Sadie Katz, Stefani Blake, Shelby McCullough, ViDonna Michaels, Devanny Pinn, Richard Hochman, Ben Stobber, Demetrios Alex

*Though IMDb and some other sites list the year for Bus Party to Hell as 2017, I have opted to list it as 2018 being it was not released until April 13, 2018 and the copyright in the screener I have also lists it as 2018.

Not just a bus ride but a fun ride of a movie overflowing with comedy and brimming with more breasts than you can shake... well something at.

A young woman hitchhikes to Las Vegas, dropped off by a disgruntled ride coincidentally as a bus is boarding to take people to the Burning Man festival. Offered a free ride she accepts, but that free ride may be more costly than anything she could have paid as, taking an off-road detour, the bus and riders become stranded and bombarded by a large group of cultists.

It's Race with the Devil meets Mad Max with more tits and cheese than the state of Wisconsin. Completely tasteless and with its tongue not just firmly planted in its cheek but permanently stitched there, Bus Party to Hell makes no apologies for itself at any point in the film. It is here to do one thing and that is entertain the right audience. If you like comedy, horror and lots of tits (and frankly on that last point...who doesn't) then you're in for a treat as it doesn't let up on any of those ingredients.

From the outset it's obvious that the objective of this is to have fun. There are things that make little if any sense but will still garner a laugh, and at that point you don't give a damn whether it made any sense or not. The performances in this are B-movie all the way. Nobody in this is trying to do Shakespeare but they are simply having fun and keeping the humor rolling with good performances that consistently hit their mark. Its big strength is the humor in which the jokes fly faster than the women in this take off their tops.

Added fun is the homage to horror films throughout. Certainly the inspiration from Race with the Devil is the first thing you notice, and of course the Mad Max influence and even Burning Man influence. But, whether intentional or not, I picked up on references to Night of the Creeps and The Lair of the White Worm. What you might pick up on in it may make it more fun for you.

I do need to point out that 'right audience' thing again. There are beheadings, tits, disembowelments, tits, lots of blood, tits, gore... oh, and did I mention tits? In addition if you are particularly bothered by snakes, spiders or tits (yeah, I just couldn't resist mentioning that again), then this may not be your cup of C... err... I mean tea!

Throughout the film I was at a rating of 4 just from an entertainment perspective. Certainly it should fall somewhere between a 3 and 4. But to grade it on anything other than what it aims to be and succeeds at, and that is just being sleazy fun, would be nitpicking. So I'm sticking with my original feeling.

My Rating: 4 Fingers


You can get Bus Party to Hell on Amazon Video and most video on demand services including Playstation, XBox 360 Live, Verizon, Dish Network, Insight, AT&T and more. Check with your provider.

Find out more on their Facebook and Twitter (Sonny Mahal) pages. If you are a reviewer you can contact them via these pages for a screener.

Follow the stars on their Twitter pages: Tara Reid  Devanny Pinn  Sadie Katz  Stefani Blake

If you have seen Bus Party to Hell and liked it, give them a rating on the film's IMDb page. You don't need an IMDb account; you can sign in to IMDb using your Facebook, Google or Amazon account.

If you are a reviewer, here is a poster and some additional stills you can use for reviews:

A Hopeful Solution for Computer Issues

While trying to get back into the swing of things with an at least better internet connection, but still limited on bandwidth compared to what it was, I'm looking to get some much procrastinated organization done. 

I've been lazy for some time with using this busted laptop connected to an external monitor. It's not for lack of having an alternate computer; I have at least enough in my closet to put together three desktop systems, plus a few laptops. 

I've been putting off doing a mass transfer of all the files I've collected, created and composted on this machine. In addition to the file transfers I also have multiple accounts I'm signed into. With my Google account in particular I don't want to chance signing into it on a different computer as the last time I did that they forced me to change my password and jump through other hoops just to get access to my account again. Being this blog and other blogs of mine are part of my Google account, getting locked out of it would basically finish my online presence.

What I'm considering doing, if it's doable, is a browser backup. Basically backing up cookies and saved passwords so that ideally I can transfer them to the new computer and not have to sign into accounts all over again. I don't know if I can do that but browsers do store files in the Windows system and I know the files are there. It's a matter of duplicating them or perhaps a browser plugin that might specifically do that.

I had been considering getting my desktop computer up and running. One issue is space. The computer desk is there. Presently it has stacks of DVDs on it, imagine that, and no place for them to go. And that's the lesser of the stacks of stuff I have to go through to get the space organized before I can setup the desktop system.

The other issue that has come to light recently with the warmer temperatures we've had is remembering how warm it can get in this room with but a single output vent. There is hardly any ventilation in here and running a desktop setup in the summer would probably turn this room into an oven.

This home is used as a warehouse, so there is plenty of product in here, on shelves and anywhere else it will fit. This home has central air, but it is ill-equipped to handle a warehouse, being that matter absorbs heat and it's not just a case of cooling the air but of also cooling the product that is stored in here. This is something I have not been able to get across to the people who work here during the day as I try to impress upon them not to shut off the A/C because if it gets warm in here and it's hot outside I cannot get it cooled back down effectively and it works the A/C unit harder. Never let people who wear jackets when it's in the 70s near a damn thermostat.

The idea of doing an indie film podcast has been put off until winter. At that time I can setup my desktop and audio equipment and not have to bother with the heat so much. I will probably have to record marathon podcast sessions, doing several within the same week for later publication.

For the time being my focus has shifted from getting the desktop setup to getting a new laptop. This current model is old and busted. I have to connect an external monitor to use it, and there's not enough space to keep it connected. Though I have a good laptop, it's a beast and is more of a desktop replacement than something you would want to carry around. I'm looking for a more portable and comfortable solution that would make it less of a chore to get online and get some work done.

Getting a newer laptop is the first step in getting myself back into a better position to be more useful. The second step of doing the transfer is likely to cause some downtime of some kind or the other; not like that's going to be very noticeable anyway with what little I've accomplished over the last 2 months. During the transfer my internet access will be limited to my Android phone/tablet and netbook. That's certainly not device poor, but none of them compare to accessing the internet on a normal computer, and are very slow comparatively.

I live in the dark ages computer-wise. My desktop I plan to setup for winter runs on Windows XP, as does this laptop. Vista sucked to high heaven, and unfortunately that crap is on one of my laptops, and the programs I most prefer are older programs that run very well on XP, and I'm afraid some of them won't run on a newer system with the current Windows. I may get a secondary computer with a newer Windows install to use mainly for internet and some newer programs that won't run on XP.

The transfer is becoming more necessary as this old laptop has been a trooper, but with a busted screen if I have an issue with it that forces it to start in DOS or maintenance mode, I won't be able to see the screen as the monitor requires Windows to start before it's activated. Getting the files off of it and transferring them to a new computer before that happens is key.

I hope to be able to do this sometime in May or June. I also hope to be able to find the drivers for the wifi adapter or else I'm going to have another problem with which to deal.