Brendan Jesus
Sometimes a film comes along and makes you think, “Wow, I didn’t realize I needed that.” Two of the films screening at Popcorn Frights made me think just that—well, one more than the other. When it comes to mixing ideas and subgenres you really have to be careful. If you don’t find the perfect mixture of these ideas your final product can come out muddy and unfocused. Losing yourself in the details of one idea can overshadow the importance of other ideas. When you find a film that can properly take a specific idea and mix it with a subgenre in a way never seen before, you know you’ve stumbled on something special. These two films handle the amalgamation of ideas and subgenres in very different ways. One takes a more comedic look at Frankenstein and Christmas, the other takes musical to a cosmic level.
Santastein
Written and Directed by Manuel Camilion and Benjamin Edelman
By title alone, Santastein stands out like a haphazardly stitched-on thumb. It tells you everything you need to know, no IMDb search necessary. Vague titles are fun, but sometimes it’s nice to know exactly what you’re in store for without having to do any research. To my knowledge, I don’t think I’ve seen a Frankenstein-themed Christmas film. Funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, Santastein is based on a short film of the same name by writers/directors Manuel Camilion and Benjamin Edelman.
To start we should look at the budget. When it comes to low-budget films, a filmmaker really has to stretch their creativity. Kickstarter shows they raised a little over 25k, and you can see the workarounds Camilion and Edelman used to get the final product. I would have assumed they worked with at least 50k to 100k, so it was immediately impressive to see they raised at least half of what I was assuming. These incredibly talented filmmakers put their money where it mattered, but that might have been a bit of a detriment.
At its core, Santastein is a creature feature. Max Causey (Jared Korotkin) finds himself at the epicenter of a world-shattering conundrum when he accidentally kills Santa Claus. Twelve years later a small town is plagued by “the necro,” someone going around to the local morgue and stealing bodies. In a world full of misery because there is no more Christmas, these morgue-robbings are just the icing on the cake to make this town even more miserable. After years of research and multiple dead bodies, Max finally resurrects Santa Claus. But what he resurrects isn’t the jolly old Saint Nicholas he once was.
Storywise, Santastein is well written, for a film of this ilk. While not a wholly original concept, Camilion and Edelman bring enough to the table to make this film feel different and unique. The Frankenstein story has been done many different ways, but setting it at Christmastime and attempting to reanimate Santa is just the twist this low-budget film needs to stand out from the crowd.
Where I found difficulty with Santastein is the directing. To be clear, I love low-budget films. Writing, scheduling, creating, and filming something is no small feat. Camilion and Edelman did something so many people want to do, but never follow through with. The majority of Santastein follows a group of students who want to throw a party being held at an unpopular girl’s house. The writing of these characters is on par with the majority of your typical high school bullies in genre films, where it seems to go off course is the garish performances from the students. On paper, I think the dialogue works fairly well, but in actuality there seems to be a disconnect between the actors and the direction. So many lines just feel as if these bullies are reading their lines verbatim and adding some angsty “my rich parents don’t pay attention to me” flair. It doesn’t really feel like anyone is a character, rather it feels like actors reading lines.
Visually Santastein is hit or miss. Every scene with Max and Santa is engaging and interesting enough to make up for the rest of the film, though we could have used more of them. A lot of the school and party scenes feel flat. It lacks a sort of depth and visual flair that would elevate this film greatly. That’s truly what will divide audiences. I’ve spent my days watching Tubi movies for hours upon hours, so I’ve seen my fair share of so bad they’re good type films. I would not consider Santastein so bad it’s good, but it’s not fantastic. I really wanted more visual intensity from this film. Camilion and Edelman have a firm grasp on what they want, and I think it will just take more trial and error for them to really get their groove. My first thought was this film feels a bit muddy because there are two directors. I’ll be interested to see what they do next because it’s apparent they have a lot of talent and creativity.
I’m not a Christmas person, in fact, I don’t like the holiday whatsoever. But this past year I’ve really been getting into Christmas-themed horror films. I hope this film gets some sort of release soon because I think it would be a great double feature with Joe Begos’s Christmas Bloody Christmas.
Eldritch, USA
Written by Ryan Smith, Directed by Tyler Foreman and Ryan Smith
Don’t murder, morals are your friend! Eldritch, USA is the film I didn’t know I needed in my life. Lovecraftian cosmic horror? Check. Horrors beyond our imagination? Check. Musical numbers??? Double check!
Eldritch, USA follows brothers Geoff (Graham Weldin) and Rich Brewer (Andy Phinney) who are investigative journalists. Geoff is the oft-forgotten man behind the camera, while his brother Rich is an egotistical “ladies man” who suffers from local news anchor syndrome. After a tragedy befalls the Brewer family, Geoff finds himself as his brother’s keeper. Remembering a strange cult they interviewed shortly before the accident, Geoff must make the most important decision in his life, and the consequences of his actions might just affect the world as a whole.
This is one of the films in the lineup I had not heard of previously. After seeing the thumbnail, I knew I needed to see this one. Learning it was a musical just made it even more intriguing. Eldritch, USA is one of the most entertaining and charming films I have seen in a long time.
Smith’s script is fairly tight, and even with its nearly two-hour-long runtime, it doesn’t drag one bit. Geoff’s character is written so well and Graham Weldin absolutely kills it. We all know a Geoff. He’s a pushover who wants more from his life, but can’t get in front of himself to really get what he wants. Even when he tries to get ahead in life, his brother Rich always acts as a roadblock. The dichotomy between Geoff and Rich is expertly handled by Weldin and Phinney. Phinney embodies the big-dick-overcompensating-energy of Rich, while still finding the real character underneath. Anyone from a small town is familiar with these types of people, I won’t name names, but I had a very similar local news anchor who acted almost exactly like Rich. Rich has little to nothing going on for him, but his position in life has granted him opportunities that his egotistical brain cannot comprehend.
While the script, directing, and acting are exceptional, Eldritch, USA truly shines with its exuberant and awkwardly choreographed musical numbers. If they ever released a vinyl for this I would giddily purchase that immediately. When I learned it was a musical I was expecting more of a hard rock/metal musical with some pop-like beats thrown in. Instead, we get Broadway-esque overly excited musical numbers that ooze charm. When the first song “He Does Everything Right” started I was a bit hesitant and thought it might not fit with the vibe of a Lovecraftian musical. Thank god I was wrong. “He Does Everything Right” perfectly sets the tone for what’s to come, and it all works too well. My favorite piece of music in this film isn’t one of the musical numbers, but it’s the song that plays during the credits “I Wait,” written by Nathan Hurley. It’s just legitimately a good song. Oh, and it probably goes without saying but everyone who has a musical number has an exceptional voice!
If you’re going to twist my arm and ask what my favorite musical numbers were, I’d have to say “He Does Everything Right” and “Morals Are Your Friend.” Ryan Smith, David Drake and Nathan Hurley perfectly captured the charm and atmosphere this film is going for and it creates a truly transcendent experience. I’m almost sad I can’t experience this film for the first time again. Sometimes you need something different and unique in life and Eldritch, USA hits all the right notes.
