Ice From The Sun [Archive] - Movie Fan Central Discussion Forums

Psychocandy

07-31-2002, 05:52 PM

Jeez. I checked the IMDB and had a look at some of the other movies by the same director, Eric Stanze. It's pretty grim stuff and no mistake. So far he has directed four movies. They are as follows,

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***********SPOILERS*************

Savage Harvest (1994)

Story: Years ago, a Cherokee elder summoned into our world an evil that eventually destroyed his entire tribe. Now, on the land that was once inhabited by the tribe, demonic forces await the return of this long-dead Cherokee elder.

Thoughts: The film opens with 3 couples heading up to a cabin for a nice weekend. When they arrive they get all settled in then start telling stories. So the first story is one from an uncle, the story goes like this...

Years ago a tribe of natives murdered one of the natives for doing black magic. Well the uncle has a few rocks, that are supposedly cursed, and if you touch them you can be possessed by a demon. Don't worry though, that's only likely if one of the natives awaken the evil spirit. Unknown to them it has been awaken, and now some of them are turning into demons. Now its up to the remaining survivors to kill these monsters off before it's to late.

Savage Harvest is an entertaining, stylish gore fest! It's hard to believe this film had such a low budget, the effects are great, and the gore is bathed everywhere! The action starts about 30 minutes in, and doesn't let up until the ending!

Savage Harvest is not only a fun flick, it's a well made one. The directing by Eric Stanze is incredible, great atmosphere, angles and style! The acting is pretty damn good for an indie flick, and the effects are great. The story itself isn't to shabby itself, great job by Stanze.

On the downside the characters were very underdeveloped. Yes it would of been nice to be routing for at least one of the characters in their struggle against the monsters, but it was still fun. Also, this film is loaded with gore, but it is usually to dark to get a good look at most of it. Ohwell I guess it was better taking place in the dark then broad daylight!

For an indie film, Savage Harvest is an inventive, and well crafted flick. Not everyday we see an indie film like this. So if you see this on your video shelf, don't shrug it away like another DTV P.O.S because this film packs a punch.

Bottom Line: Tight camera work, great effects and gore make this an indie gem that all horror fans should check out.

Ice From The Sun (1999)

Story: Hell and Heaven, are not the only dimension. There is another one, where the Presence stays, the one man both heaven and hell hate. Now it's up to one mortal to go into his dimension and save the world....

Thoughts : Years ago, a wizard named Ambolin created a dimension where he would drag innocent people in there to be slaughtered. It wasn't just the wizard, he had an apprentice named The Presence. After killing many people, The Presence was more powerful then the wizard, and it was now his dimension. Yet until now, he continued killing people.

Now look who's out to save the day, a girl named Alison. Heaven and Hell team up to get a mortal (Alison) to go in The Presence's dimension and kill him off. How can she do that? Well she has to try and make him remember he used to be like everyone else.

Alison isn't the only one in the dimension, there are also 6 others. But it is her main mission to destroy the Presence, and save the day.

After reading the back cover of this film, you can't help but think this film sounds pretty goofy. Boy was I wrong. Ice From The Sun, is the most stylish indie film out there. Eric Stanze's brightest film by far, showcases just how much talent this guy has!

The story is inventive, the visuals are spectacular and the atmosphere is intact. I guarantee you this, you will never see a film like Ice From The Sun. The gore is also evident here, just like in Stanze other flicks "Scrapbook" and "Savage Harvest".

Ice From The Sun is definitely a treat, for all those people who are ticked off about seeing the same old thing in horror lately. Eric Stanze has a brilliant imagination, and his directing is terrific. If Stanze isn't the next best thing in horror, I don't know what is. This guy has ALLOT of talent, just picture him with a huge budget!

If I had one problem with this film, it's the character development. Like "Scrapbook" and "Savage Harvest", there is no development. Our leading lady Alison, seems to be a one layered person with no personality or any background, what's with that? Another problem is the length, with a running time of about 116 minutes.

Bottom Line: Still Ice From The Sun is a hellish and dark horror film that felt like one long nightmare. It will keep you watching until the end, and will leave you in awe. I highly recommend this film, forget what you have heard "Scrapbook" is not his best flick, this film brutally rips that film to pieces, check it out!

Scrapbook (2000)

The new trend in indie horror has extended way beyond bad taste. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing because I happen to be sick and tired of post SCREAM teeny-bopper, PG-13 horror. Scrapbook is anything but a self-referential screamy-bopper gloss-fest. This IS hardcore horror that is sure to offend and disturb. Considering this is exactly what the filmmakers intentions were, I say job well done.

You've seen it before, a million times no less. Due to some disturbing childhood incident (involving his naked sister, no less) young Leonard flips out and becomes an insane lunatic. Cut to present times in which Leonard (Tommy Biondo) has just captured his latest victim Clara (Emily Haack, in a knock-out performance). It seems as if Clara will be the closing chapter in Leonard's "scrapbook" in which he documents his conquests through polaroids and writings. Leonard, as well as his victims, contribute to the scrapbook which looks like a disturbing mess to us but must be a serial killers wet dream. Clara's only hope for survival is to try to communicate with Leonard through his scrapbook, and try to turn the tables in her favor.

Not without its problems Scrapbook is actually an effective film, which manages to never look cheap primarily due to its inventive camera work and editing (one scene in particular in which the action shifts between the "third wall" camera and Leonards home video camera comes to mind). Scrapbook is definitely not for the kiddies or the squeamish as it includes some extremely frank scenes of a violent and sexual nature. We are subjected to scene after scene of Leonard torturing and humiliating Clara, many of these scenes include but are not limited to the following; beatings, a few brutal rapings (one of which ends with Clara being urinated on), forced oral sex (which verges on hard-core), and a scene in which Clara is duct-taped inside a trash can for an unspecified amount of time.

Not played out purely for shock value, Scrapbook features some chilling images and a few well executed set-pieces, including one cat and mouse sequence in which Clara tries to escape. Tommy Biondo (who also wrote the story) as Leonard provides an OK performance while it's nothing to get excited about (if Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had a child together, this is what he would look like, sorry Tommy) . Emily Haack is the true standout as it is evident she had to go through A LOT to deliver this performance, and it couldn't have been easy. Haack's performance is the reason we stick around to the end. I'm glad that Clara is not portrayed as just another victim. Clara is a solid and strong character and she doesn't give up easily.

In addition to the feature itself we are given a brief behind the scenes featurette which is actually quite interesting (each crew member provided a page for the scrapbook used in the film). Offering some valuable insights into the making of the film, it's also a relief to see a smile on Emily's face in between takes, that poor girl. We're also given a trailer for the film Ice from the Sun, the previous feature from the same filmmakers. The only problem I had with the presentation of the feature itself is that the sound was quite often not balanced. The dialogue seemed very low while music and effects would be a bit too loud. I found myself manually adjusting the volume throughout.

If you're looking for a disturbing slice of American indie horror, Scrapbook is definitely worth a look. Just keep in mind that the content is dark and disturbing...definitely not for all tastes.

I Spit On Your Corpse, I Piss On Your Grave (2001)

Exploitation filmmaking is still alive and well under the guise of the films of Sub Rosa Extreme. Extreme being the key word as this is not your parent's horror film. I'm giving fair warning as this review is for a film that has some extreme scenes of a sexual and violent nature. The images and words that follow may not be for you so if you are easily offended, just remember that you have been warned. This is your opportunity to turn right around and run.

Taking a nod from classic exploitation of the 70's director Eric Stanze raises the bar to the next level. While not a direct remake, the obvious similarities between this film and I Spit on Your Grave are vastly evident. It does seem as if Stanze is paying homage to I Spit and many other exploitation films of yesteryear. The story opens with a grisly murder discovered by a young boy in a disturbing yet effective scene. It turns out that the brother of the actual murderer, Chris, is soon wrongfully accused, sent to prison, and subsequently escapes. Upon his escape, Chris (Stanze himself) arranges a visit with his ex-girl Sandy (Emily Hack of Scrapbook) and lures her into a sadistic lair as he's got plans to take revenge on her and 3 others who couldn't help keep him out of prison. The other 3 unlucky pals are a neighbor, Sandy's boss, and Sandy's ex-ex-boyfriend. Once Chris reveals his plans, Sandy fights back and introduces Chris to the sharp end of a crowbar. It doesn't take long for Sandy to also realize that she has reason for revenge on the 3 unlucky guys hangin' around, and exact her revenge she does. Sandy flips out and soon tortures and kills each of the remaining victims. This is where it gets funky, as Sandy forces one of the guys to defecate and then eat his own feces, burn him with a cigarette butt, and ultimately chop him to bits with an axe. Sandy's boss gets a bullet to the groin (easy way out and easily paralleled to the gent who gets his penis cut off in the bathtub in I Spit on Your Grave). The grand finale involves Sandy tying up her last victim face down and naked and repeatedly inserting a broomstick handle inside his... well, I think you get the idea.

I Spit on Your Corpse, I Piss on Your Grave is extreme independent exploitation. It's a bit weird as the story is told in a bizarre tongue and cheek fashion paralleled with offensive as heck sex and violence. This makes for a truly bizarre viewing experience. Bizarre in a good way as I was captivated during the cool 70 minute running time and could not turn away. Keep in mind that this is truly disturbing stuff, casual fans of horror need not apply. However, if you're used to the sick and depraved and are not easily offended, you'll probably want to give the Sub Rosa line a look. The one thing that really stands out is how well made of a film this really is. Considering the budgetary and time restraints, Stanze proves himself to be a director to watch out for.

I Spit on your Corpse was shot on video and is presented full frame the way it was intended to be shown. The quality of the DVD is very sharp and clear with no visible artifacting. Simply put, it looks good. Sound is presented in Dolby 2.0 and is also very clear with crisp dialogue and a truly rockin' and rude soundtrack, I loved it.

Extras are plentiful, including a 25-minute behind the scenes documentary that is quite informative. There's also a brief 14-minute featurette included that chronicles a police investigation into a dumpster that the gore props were thrown into. Apparently a full-on police investigation that involved the homicide division and the medical examiner, (the story got national attention) talk about great press! Extras are rounded out with a few trailers for other Sub Rosa films and a full commentary from Stanze and Haack that is quite interesting and well worth a listen. It's worth mentioning that some of the extended scenes of sexual and violent depravity were insisted upon by French investors, now that is truly frightening.

Overall this is a fine presentation of one hell of a disturbing film. Highly entertaining and a fabulous homage to the long gone world of true exploitation, I really enjoyed I Spit on Your Corpse, I Piss on your Grave.

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All of the above movies do NOT sound like they would be everyone's idea of entertainment. But the amount of critical acclaim being leveled at this indie film maker is undeniable. Has anyone seen any of these? I would value some info on them.

[This message has been edited by Psychocandy (edited 07-31-2002).]