2019, Joe Begos (Almost Human) -- download
That should be a pretty decent indicator of a horror movie, if somewhat gory, right? Nah, let's just go with gory and be satisfied. And yet I got myself a somewhat satisfactory experience; not quite the creative indie movie of the 90s calibre, but at least a fun romp with realized characters.
I considered the movie being set in the early days of the same world as Dredd. Its a dark near future where the world is getting worse, and the narcotics are getting more evil. Fred (Stephen Lang, Avatar) runs a bar for his VFW (veterans of foreign wars) buddies, and pretty much nobody else. They happen to be across the parking lot of a structure controlled by a drug dealer and the multitude of addicts, people lost to the drug in almost a zombie or mutant level addiction. When Lizard, the sister of a murdered addict, absconds with a bag full of the drug, hiding in the bar, things go full on Assault on Precinct 13.
Fred and his buddies are old, grotty soldiers from various 20th century wars. You get the feel this is an alternate early 21st century, maybe now, but things are much much worse than even 2020 can dish out. When the addicts begin attacking, its brutal, gory and utterly nasty -- blood, body parts and heads chopped galore. The film makers had a ball making this movie, and Fangoria must have been gleeful to be a part of it.
Is it horror? No. Is it Halloween? Of course, because one of the traditions is doing buckets of blood, and this would have felt right at home on VHS. All the aging B actors (William Sadler, Fred Williamson, Martin Kove, David Patrick Kelly, George Wendt) are a bunch of fun to watch, all familiar faces who do their darndest to defend their buddies, and celebrate Fred's birthday. And, of course, fight another deadly battle before they go to that VFW in the sky. Is it good? Hell no. Is it fun? Hell yes!
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