Scary or Die (2012) – movie review

Scary or Die (2012)

I wasn’t expecting much from this because I’m sure I had read a bad review or two. I figured I’d watch it and see if I can write a few funny jabs and insults about it. I actually liked it. What we have here is an anthology with 5 short stories.

The Crossing
A trio of rednecks plan to show some Mexican illegals the ways of the white man. However, when the first drop of blood hits the ground, it awakens a field of dead Mexican zombies. This one was average but the stories get better as the film progresses.

Taejung’ s Lament
A single man upset about a lost love saves a woman from a psychotic kidnapper. To show her thanks she invites him to dinner on Friday night. What he does not know is she is a vampire, and he is the main course. This one was better.

Re-membered
A hit man kills his mark and saws him into pieces. He throws the pieces into a large duffel bag and heads to the marsh to dump the body. Several times during the drive he thinks he hears knocking and banging coming from the trunk. When he gets to his destination, he opens the trunk and the bag is empty. This is a cool little story with a nice twist ending.

Clowned
A man gets bitten by a weird clown that shows up at his young brother’s birthday party. The bite is infected and the older brother begins to go through a strange transformation. I really liked this segment. It is both visually and psychologically creepy. It is also tragic as the love for his family, especially his kid brother struggles with the monster he becomes. My fave short and the highlight of the movie.

Lover Come Back
a very short piece that reminded me of a graphic novel, with stark lighting and every scene artistically framed. She just plays hard to get… hard to get rid of, that is! When you see the ragged woman walking through the street you get a feeling you had seen her before.

All of the stories were written and directed by Michael Emanuel except for ‘re-membered’ which was written and directed by Bob Badway, and Taejung’s Lament which was directed by Igor Meglic.

This team of filmmakers have something good going on here and I look forward to seeing future projects by them. They understand the horror genre and although the stories were simple, they were still entertaining. I am sure they had a small budget for this film but produced something that doesn’t feel like a ‘B’ horror flick. Worth a look for horror fans.