Day one at the convention found me watching the movie Fun With Hackley: Axe Murderer for the second screening of the day. After that screening, there was a special screening for the first episode of the new Fox series: Exorcist. I'm not actually going to review it, but it was actually pretty good. It does seem to tie into the movies, at least the first one, but I'm not sure how much it will do so just yet. The third film for day one turned out to be a movie called Parasites (2016). Based off the title alone, I wasn't expecting it to be about homeless people, but the title does make sense now that I look back on it.
Marshal (Sean Samuels) and a couple of his friends are traveling through L.A. on their way to college. They get a little lost after taking a detour. Being guys, they refuse to ask for directions and find themselves in the part of town you don't want to be in. After getting a flat tire, and finding out it was done on purpose, they run into Wilco (Robert Miano) and his gang of homeless folks. They have a chip on their shoulder and beat up the three guys. When they try to escape, Wilco kills them all, which the others don't really approve of, but go along with it. While getting rid of the bodies, one lady decides to take Marshal's clothes, but he isn't dead. He gets away without any clothes and heads off into the city with Wilco and his gang in pursuit.
Writer/director Chad Ferrin was on hand to introduce his film. As Parasites started, I was wondering if it had started in the wrong place. We meet the three guys as they are driving around L.A. right away. There wasn't any real build up or getting to know the characters much. I guess it didn't matter too much since Marshal was the last guy standing out of his friends anyway. Parasites is, more or less, one long chase scene. I was actually getting a little annoyed by it for two reasons. The first was that for a black man, Marshal sure as hell couldn't run. Marshal appeared to be running fast, but couldn't outrun a dog that wasn't running at full speed and a guy that looked twice his age at least. The other thing was that I kept thinking to myself how hard is it to lose those you can outrun and barely encounter anyone else other than those that are after you? While those things took away from the film a bit for me, Ferrin still manages to keep the story interesting. This was mainly by having Marshal more than willing to fight back or even kill those that are trying to do the same to him. Marshal didn't go looking for a fight but was happy to do so when he had to. It was a nice change of pace instead of having the victim always on the run, even though he sort of was, or turn the tables and become the hunter. Another fault I had with the film was some late new characters. It didn't bother me at first but became an unneeded small plot. Parasites has many interesting characters in it, but the main plot tends to get sidetracked at times. The ending was very good, though. It reminded me of the ending of a classic horror film, but at the same time, it is still an ending that speaks of the times today, especially in L.A. This might get people talking about more than just the film itself.
The effects are pretty good. Things get bloody at times, but nothing real crazy. One effect, involving a metal poll, is slightly ruined in the credits. It was a quick shot in the film, but you can see it slightly better in the credits and can easily tell the metal poll went between the actor's arm and body. Even so, the effects are well done here. The acting was also well done. Sean Samuels does a good job in the lead role and even offers up some nudity. On a quick side note, there seemed to be a lot of films at this convention that offered male nudity. Robert Miano pulls off his character very well. Slightly crazy but pretty smart at the same time. Joseph Pilato shows up in this film as well. I'm sure many a horror fan will remember him from Dawn Of The Dead. Carson Nicely, Tim Halpin, and Suzanne Summer Ferry also have parts.
The ending of the movie came as a nice surprise. There were some reactions from the people watching it when this happened, which I barely noticed since I was a bit shocked myself. While I did enjoy Parasites, it was the ending that helped push it above other films like it. I wouldn't say it is a great film, but it is still a fun watch. Parasites turned out better than I thought it was going to considering the fast start that just throws you right into things. I can't say I have even been out on the streets of L.A. late at night or early in the morning, so maybe there aren't many people out and about. I just found it strange that Marshal couldn't find anyone and kept running into the people trying to find him. I would assume the homeless people knew the city better than him, but still. I managed to get into the film more than I thought, so there is that. Parasites is worth checking into if it sounds like a film for you.
3 out of 5 I'm sure I would get all kinds of help running around naked
Marshal (Sean Samuels) and a couple of his friends are traveling through L.A. on their way to college. They get a little lost after taking a detour. Being guys, they refuse to ask for directions and find themselves in the part of town you don't want to be in. After getting a flat tire, and finding out it was done on purpose, they run into Wilco (Robert Miano) and his gang of homeless folks. They have a chip on their shoulder and beat up the three guys. When they try to escape, Wilco kills them all, which the others don't really approve of, but go along with it. While getting rid of the bodies, one lady decides to take Marshal's clothes, but he isn't dead. He gets away without any clothes and heads off into the city with Wilco and his gang in pursuit.
Writer/director Chad Ferrin was on hand to introduce his film. As Parasites started, I was wondering if it had started in the wrong place. We meet the three guys as they are driving around L.A. right away. There wasn't any real build up or getting to know the characters much. I guess it didn't matter too much since Marshal was the last guy standing out of his friends anyway. Parasites is, more or less, one long chase scene. I was actually getting a little annoyed by it for two reasons. The first was that for a black man, Marshal sure as hell couldn't run. Marshal appeared to be running fast, but couldn't outrun a dog that wasn't running at full speed and a guy that looked twice his age at least. The other thing was that I kept thinking to myself how hard is it to lose those you can outrun and barely encounter anyone else other than those that are after you? While those things took away from the film a bit for me, Ferrin still manages to keep the story interesting. This was mainly by having Marshal more than willing to fight back or even kill those that are trying to do the same to him. Marshal didn't go looking for a fight but was happy to do so when he had to. It was a nice change of pace instead of having the victim always on the run, even though he sort of was, or turn the tables and become the hunter. Another fault I had with the film was some late new characters. It didn't bother me at first but became an unneeded small plot. Parasites has many interesting characters in it, but the main plot tends to get sidetracked at times. The ending was very good, though. It reminded me of the ending of a classic horror film, but at the same time, it is still an ending that speaks of the times today, especially in L.A. This might get people talking about more than just the film itself.
The effects are pretty good. Things get bloody at times, but nothing real crazy. One effect, involving a metal poll, is slightly ruined in the credits. It was a quick shot in the film, but you can see it slightly better in the credits and can easily tell the metal poll went between the actor's arm and body. Even so, the effects are well done here. The acting was also well done. Sean Samuels does a good job in the lead role and even offers up some nudity. On a quick side note, there seemed to be a lot of films at this convention that offered male nudity. Robert Miano pulls off his character very well. Slightly crazy but pretty smart at the same time. Joseph Pilato shows up in this film as well. I'm sure many a horror fan will remember him from Dawn Of The Dead. Carson Nicely, Tim Halpin, and Suzanne Summer Ferry also have parts.
The ending of the movie came as a nice surprise. There were some reactions from the people watching it when this happened, which I barely noticed since I was a bit shocked myself. While I did enjoy Parasites, it was the ending that helped push it above other films like it. I wouldn't say it is a great film, but it is still a fun watch. Parasites turned out better than I thought it was going to considering the fast start that just throws you right into things. I can't say I have even been out on the streets of L.A. late at night or early in the morning, so maybe there aren't many people out and about. I just found it strange that Marshal couldn't find anyone and kept running into the people trying to find him. I would assume the homeless people knew the city better than him, but still. I managed to get into the film more than I thought, so there is that. Parasites is worth checking into if it sounds like a film for you.
3 out of 5 I'm sure I would get all kinds of help running around naked
