I couldn't find an actual poster for the second and last film that I watched a couple of weekends ago at a horror convention. Before this screening for The Dead Bodies In #223 (2017), I had time to walk around the convention some. I wasn't really planning on buying anything, but then I found that the movie that was screening Saturday at midnight was being sold on Blu-ray. Since it has Ellie Church in it, I decided to go ahead and pick it up. I had no plans to go back to the convention after Friday, but my friend Cattleworks is also an Ellie Church fan, so I decided to go back long enough to get the movie for him as well. It paid off since I got his copy signed and I was able to get one more autograph for mine as well. I will likely watch and review that film next, but for now, let's see what I thought of this film.
Bill (Nate Coloumbe) is a business man who is married but has a thing for hookers. He really likes one who calls herself Candy, so he calls her pimp in order to reserve her for some sex. Bill gets a room at a place called Value Place Inn and calls back to let Candy know where to go. Candy (Frankie McKay) shows up along with Jenna (Sabrina Sharp), who is there to give Bill a warning and takes his picture. Bill and Candy have their fun once they are alone. After, Bill goes to take a shower, while Candy shoots up some drug. When Bill comes out from his shower, he finds Candy on the floor dead from an overdose. Bill tries to revive Candy, but he isn't able to do so. Since Bill doesn't want his wife or anyone else to know, he decides to try to get rid of the body. But Slaymaker (Dustin Wade Hoke) wants to know where his money maker is at and decides to follow Bill around.
The Dead Bodies In #223 was directed by Jason Hoover, who also produced the film as well. Hoover, along with Hoke, was there to introduce and talk a little about the film before it was screened, which is always nice when people involved are there to do that. I decided to go ahead and buy this film on DVD because Ellie Church has a small part in it as Bill's wife. The plan was to get it signed, but I didn't see Hoover or Hoke there at the time I got the DVD and Church was busy promoting her other film, so I didn't want to bug her to sign this movie for me. I'm pretty sure I will get to meet her again, so it wasn't a big deal really. Anyway, The Dead Bodies in #223 is a bit of a slow burn. While I enjoyed the acting, which I will get into more later, I couldn't get into the story very much. There was nothing wrong with the story really, but I couldn't help but think that this would have worked much better as a short film. It starts off fine, but once Bill tries to find ways to dispose of the bodies, it begins to drag. When I first started to watch the movie, I had this idea in my head that dead bodies would be found in some room and now whoever found them had to deal with it in some way. I was off, of course, but as you can see from the title, there is more than one dead body that ends up in the room. Bill just seems to make things worse as time goes on. Of course, he isn't trying to, but as one plan doesn't work, he switches to a new one. He has to keep coming up with excused not just for his wife, but also for where he works. It just became a bit slow and boring. I figured it would come down to Slaymaker finding out for sure what happened to Candy, but it just takes way too long for that to come around. I did like the way things ended in a way. The only problem I had with the ending is that it is a bit unclear what happens to Bill's wife.
There isn't really anything as far as effects go. Bill eventually decides to cut Candy up, which is the only way I could really see him getting rid of the body. We get to see him doing this, but it doesn't actually show what he is doing. We get instead a shot of Bill edging his saw closer and then a splash of blood across his face mask. Nothing really gory. The acting wasn't all that bad this time around. I generally liked both Coloumbe and Hoke in the lead roles. I liked Coloumbe more than Hoke, but they both played their characters well. This is the second film I have watched now with Frankie McKay and both films were at the same convention. I watched her in the lead role last year in the movie Dane Granger. I liked her more in that film, but she only has a minor role here. Same goes for Ellie Church who is only in three scenes, if I remember right, all of which are just a couple of minutes in length if that.
There was one scene in The Dead Bodies In #223 that didn't make a lot of sense to me. Seemingly out of nowhere, a scene starts up where Slaymaker shows up at a farm and his crew beats a guy up for information. Maybe it had to do with Bill, but I didn't think it did. I suppose it could have been there to show that Slaymaker will follow through on his threats to Bill if it comes to that, but I just assumed he would anyway. The Dead Bodies In #223 isn't really a bad film, I just thought it would work better as a short film since there isn't all that much to the plot. It felt like things were dragged out or just added in so the run time would be longer. I watched this film because it was part of the screenings, but I probably would have wanted to catch it for sure just because Church happens to be in the film. I can't really see anyone being that interested in the film itself, but it is worth a watch if you happen to like someone who is in the cast. It was better than the other film I watched at the screenings, but still not that great of a movie.
2 out of 5 That is what you get for using your real name at the Inn!
Bill (Nate Coloumbe) is a business man who is married but has a thing for hookers. He really likes one who calls herself Candy, so he calls her pimp in order to reserve her for some sex. Bill gets a room at a place called Value Place Inn and calls back to let Candy know where to go. Candy (Frankie McKay) shows up along with Jenna (Sabrina Sharp), who is there to give Bill a warning and takes his picture. Bill and Candy have their fun once they are alone. After, Bill goes to take a shower, while Candy shoots up some drug. When Bill comes out from his shower, he finds Candy on the floor dead from an overdose. Bill tries to revive Candy, but he isn't able to do so. Since Bill doesn't want his wife or anyone else to know, he decides to try to get rid of the body. But Slaymaker (Dustin Wade Hoke) wants to know where his money maker is at and decides to follow Bill around.
The Dead Bodies In #223 was directed by Jason Hoover, who also produced the film as well. Hoover, along with Hoke, was there to introduce and talk a little about the film before it was screened, which is always nice when people involved are there to do that. I decided to go ahead and buy this film on DVD because Ellie Church has a small part in it as Bill's wife. The plan was to get it signed, but I didn't see Hoover or Hoke there at the time I got the DVD and Church was busy promoting her other film, so I didn't want to bug her to sign this movie for me. I'm pretty sure I will get to meet her again, so it wasn't a big deal really. Anyway, The Dead Bodies in #223 is a bit of a slow burn. While I enjoyed the acting, which I will get into more later, I couldn't get into the story very much. There was nothing wrong with the story really, but I couldn't help but think that this would have worked much better as a short film. It starts off fine, but once Bill tries to find ways to dispose of the bodies, it begins to drag. When I first started to watch the movie, I had this idea in my head that dead bodies would be found in some room and now whoever found them had to deal with it in some way. I was off, of course, but as you can see from the title, there is more than one dead body that ends up in the room. Bill just seems to make things worse as time goes on. Of course, he isn't trying to, but as one plan doesn't work, he switches to a new one. He has to keep coming up with excused not just for his wife, but also for where he works. It just became a bit slow and boring. I figured it would come down to Slaymaker finding out for sure what happened to Candy, but it just takes way too long for that to come around. I did like the way things ended in a way. The only problem I had with the ending is that it is a bit unclear what happens to Bill's wife.
There isn't really anything as far as effects go. Bill eventually decides to cut Candy up, which is the only way I could really see him getting rid of the body. We get to see him doing this, but it doesn't actually show what he is doing. We get instead a shot of Bill edging his saw closer and then a splash of blood across his face mask. Nothing really gory. The acting wasn't all that bad this time around. I generally liked both Coloumbe and Hoke in the lead roles. I liked Coloumbe more than Hoke, but they both played their characters well. This is the second film I have watched now with Frankie McKay and both films were at the same convention. I watched her in the lead role last year in the movie Dane Granger. I liked her more in that film, but she only has a minor role here. Same goes for Ellie Church who is only in three scenes, if I remember right, all of which are just a couple of minutes in length if that.
There was one scene in The Dead Bodies In #223 that didn't make a lot of sense to me. Seemingly out of nowhere, a scene starts up where Slaymaker shows up at a farm and his crew beats a guy up for information. Maybe it had to do with Bill, but I didn't think it did. I suppose it could have been there to show that Slaymaker will follow through on his threats to Bill if it comes to that, but I just assumed he would anyway. The Dead Bodies In #223 isn't really a bad film, I just thought it would work better as a short film since there isn't all that much to the plot. It felt like things were dragged out or just added in so the run time would be longer. I watched this film because it was part of the screenings, but I probably would have wanted to catch it for sure just because Church happens to be in the film. I can't really see anyone being that interested in the film itself, but it is worth a watch if you happen to like someone who is in the cast. It was better than the other film I watched at the screenings, but still not that great of a movie.
2 out of 5 That is what you get for using your real name at the Inn!
