There always have been and always will be low budget movies.
They cost little to produce compared to blockbuster pictures and the return on
investment is enough to get people to back them up financially for the most
part. The problem is that there are some that completely stink and thus return
nothing. So when a good one comes along you definitely want to sing praises for
it.
Now keep in mind that good lies in the eye of the beholder.
With that in mind I whole heartedly recommend MIMESIS. The movie opens with
horror geek Russell and his friend Duane at a horror fan convention (from the
looks of things it's the Motor City Nightmares Convention). While they listen
to director Alfonso Betz (Sid Haig) discuss how people shouldn't blame real
life violence on movies, Duane thinks it's a waste of time and would rather be
hustling some honeys. The chance, of course, presents itself when a Goth girl
approaches them during lunch with a pass to a secret party that night.
The duo arrive at the party and seem to have a good time
with the exception that they're drugged and awake the next morning to find
themselves dressed in new clothes and placed in a select location. Horror fans
will recognize immediately what is going on here between the costumes and
location. If you're not a fan be aware SPOILER ALERT. Russell wakes next to a
girl he met the night before wearing a black suit, thin black tie and black
leather gloves. The girl has her blonde hair in a scarf and is wearing a green
dress and light beige coat. Their location? A graveyard. Yes this is a
recreation of THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
But not really. Instead each person who was drugged the
night before has taken on a role from that movie. Duane is the hero of the
film, two parents and their child star prodigy have taken on the roles of the
family from the film, a friend is now the teenage boy and the goth girl his
girlfriend. Each of these wakes from their drugged sleep to encounter what
appear to be zombies chasing them. When one is killed in front of the others
and gnawed on they begin to wonder is this real or something else?
You should be able to quickly figure out what is happening
here but I won't reveal just in case. Suffice to say that it makes for an
entertaining and original concept here. Just who are the bad guys and why are
they doing this? Are these really zombies? Is all of this just a bad dream?
Watch and see.
A nice touch here is the tribute to the original film that
is hidden beneath the obvious re-creating of the whole movie by this group
forced to play out their roles. This tribute lies in the names of the
characters here. Each one is based on either a character or an actor from the
original film. A nice touch that again fans will notice immediately.
It's apparent that this movie was made on a shoestring
budget but that never seems to get in the way of things. Sure the acting isn't
Oscar worthy but the cast does a great job and display the potential to go
further. The effects aren't so far over the top as to be unbelievable and the
photography is well done and used for effect often.
While MIMESIS may not go down in history as the greatest
horror film or even the greatest tribute to a horror film it does offer the
goods sought out by fans. It even makes the fans the central characters in both
good and bad guy roles. This is one of those movies that would make a great
double feature fun fest on any Friday night party.
Click here to order.
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