THE BRINK & MANIACAL

The Brink & Maniacal – Los Angeles, CA - August 13, 2005
By Aine

You’ve really got to love MySpace, it may be taken over by some tycoon, but it can still be a great way to make contacts, and, in this case, get invited to a really cool double screening.

My trusty cohort Larra and I headed into Lala land and after only getting slightly lost, arrived early to the double screening of The Brink and Maniacal. Arriving early provided us the opportuniy to meet and mingle with the fine folks involved with the films: Eric Spudic, John Bowker, and a slew of others. On a side note, Super Heidi arrived late to the screenings, we love you Heidi. (She wasn’t as lucky as us and got more than slightly lost) On another side note: I really wish that N. Western and S. Western were clearer about their differences, but that’s a battle I will never win.

After some more schmoozing, eating, and excellent horror-related conversation, the show began. Yet another note: the food was awesome! And whoever made those little peanut butter and chocolate things is my new hero. But I digress.

We begin with The Brink, a ghost story of sorts, but it’s got a new twist up its sleeve. It starts with a shot of old times, where Thomas Edison has created a machine that is like a CB radio for the dead, ghost radio. But something has gone wrong, as is usually the case when the dead are involved; dead folks are always so cranky! After some dramatic, Evil Dead-like force comes a callin’ Edison destroys the machine.

Cut to modern times and the super hot engineering student who is searching for Edison’s notes on how to build the machine. Oh yeah, she’s that special kind of hot stuff/damaged goods chick you’ve come to know and love in horror films. So she gets the plans, and recruits some engineering friends of hers to help her build the machine, in a house where a family murdered each other of course. And wouldn’t you know that her loser ex boyfriend comes a callin’ and manages to stay with them in the house during all the mayhem. Kudos go to the genetics of said ex boyfriend, actor Jeff Ryan, he is completely lickable.

Once the ghost radio is built they turn it on, only to receive transmissions of angry ghosts yelling at each other before the machine blows up. So miss damaged goods insists that it gets repaired, and of course, it does, so they try again. This time the ghostly baddies appear, and they are angry, as I mentioned above. Only for some reason, they are not just to be seen this time; they assume physical form and decide they want some company in being dead. The machine gets unplugged just in time to keep the stereo typical shy nerd guy from getting his head bashed in, and they then lock the machine in another room. And, you guessed it, it has other plans. Somehow it turns itself on and electrocutes anyone who tries to interfere.

So the ghosts are on the loose, there are some great kills, a few totally awesome scares. The kind of scares that make you jump and then laugh at yourself for doing it. I can’t give away the heavy details of the plot, but I will say that miss damaged goods had ulterior motives for coming to this house, and that it doesn’t really work out well for all of those involved. I know what you’re thinking but though this comes across as a super stereo typical film, full of predictability, it’s still damn good. I’d say it’s good for a low budget horror film, but it’s more than that, it is actually just really good all on its own. I enjoyed every minute of it. I found it well acted, well put together, and most importantly, I never got bored.

Which brings me to the second film of the night, Maniacal. Ha, I bet you thought I was going to say it sucked, well you’re wrong. Maniacal did not suck, it didn’t even blow. How could you not hold a warm place in your heart for a movie with the tagline, “he’s mentally ill and back to kill?” I love it!

This is the kind of stuff that makes me think of my early days working on cheesy film projects and just having a ton of fun. Gilbert Gill is back to kill, or something along those lines. Gilbert is a “slow” guy who likes to build strange weapons out of doll parts and nails, which is quite impressive. When his drunken father scolds him excessively for burning holes in the carpet, and his sister teases him about a girl, he finally snaps. First he takes a hammer and knocks out the drunken papa, and then he goes after his step mother, who I think was supposed to be molesting him in some way. What follows is the first of many hilarious on screen kills I’ve ever seen: he proceeds to beat her in the face with a hammer, but not just once, but over and over and over again until her face is complete jelly. I guess it sounds horrible, but the way it was done was fantastic. Trust me, if you saw it, you would laugh too.

I thin Gilbert intended to go on a killing spree but was immediately captured by police and sent away to an insane asylum. His father and sister survived and it’s been awhile, they’re going to bring Gilbert home for a visit, but Gilbert has other plans. He kills several people in the asylum by stabbing them with forks, or just pulling their internal organs out effortlessly, which is even more hilarious. Then he steals his dad’s truck and goes to town Michael Myers style, seeking his bloody vengeance.

I particularly enjoy him killing the owner of the “horror shop” that everyone mysteriously frequents, a.k.a. Eddie Brandt’s! This movie is full of all the staples, excessive kills, boobs, sex, stupid teenagers, the works. But what really makes it special are all of the unique, over the top kills. I laughed so hard my whole body ached. The ending was a little soft, and didn’t seem to fit the rest of what had happened, but I did hear writer Eric Spudic shout, “I didn’t write that lame ass ending!” I’ll forgive the movie for that because I had such a fun time with it. I want to own the DVD and show it to all of my horror friends.

I have to say I was pretty sad when the evening ended, and despite how tired I was I lingered for a long time, chatting with several of the folks involved, and getting excited about them doing another one of these screenings with future films. And just to show you how small of a world it really is, Eric Spudic is a transport from the St. Louis area and has worked with Eric Stanze, and the Wicked Pixel group, which is where I am from. How awesome, it really doesn’t get much better. As Spudic would say, “Rock and roll, horror forever!” See below for a group photo from the screening.

From Left to right: Robyn Cooper (producer of The Brink), Benjamin Cooper (director/writer/producer of The Brink), Jeff Ryan (actor, The Brink), Jason Flowers (actor, The Brink), Eric Spudic (writer, Maniacal), Carl Washington (writer of Killjoy), and John Bowker (co-writer of The Brink)