Roadkill: The Last Days Of John Martin (1994)

3 / 5 May '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jim Van Bebber
Written by: Mark Gillespie, Jim Van Bepper
Actors include: Marc Pitman, Mark Gillespie, Maureen Allisse
Genre: Horror, Short
Length: 15 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So apparently this short film was created by Jim Van Bebber as a means to finance his feature length film My Sweet Satan. It's certainly attempting to appeal to splatter fans as it jumps right in with our crazy main character yanking entrails from some sort of animal and having a snack. In fact when he's not gnawing on raw parts he's yelling repetitively and watching '80s tv programs, quite the fulfilling life really. He goes out on a cruise and picks up some hitchhikers and has a little dismemberment dinner party. It's definitely trying to mimic the ambiance and sentiment of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but with no avail as this just isn't creepy. I did appreciate the fact that it was quite gory and well I actually thought it was funny and easy enough to watch but it shouldn't scare anyone.

Availability:  On DVD as part of a set with My Sweet Satan

Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) aka Cemetery Man aka Demons '95 aka Of Death And Love

4.5 / 5
Tagline: A cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies
Directed by: Michele Soavi
Written by: Gianni Romoli, Tiziano Sclavi
Actors include: Rupert Everett, Francois Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Fantasy
Length: 105 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I'm surprised this one hasn't been properly rereleased and discovered by the masses yet. It's another witty horror comedy sorta thing where Rupert Everett works as a cemetery man. The dead seem to rise seven days after they died the first time and it's his job to kill them a second time as they become zombies. There is plenty of amusing little mishaps and odd things going on which make this quite delightful. They also put a bit of what if and some deeper meaning into this if you look hard enough and even a bit of a love story involving a severed head. It's got a little something for everyone, and I'd highly recommend this to most. Fortunately it's finally available on DVD so you have no reason not to grab this, I can't think of anyone I've shown this imaginative movie to that has disliked it!

Availability:  On DVD