That's right. People dig us.
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--On Bullets
& Mascara:
Heather Dixon's BULLETS & MASCARA takes all the familiar locations of the aforementioned backyard horror romps - the woods, the park, mom & dad's basement - and uses them to present a KILL BILL-inspired kung fu action comedy that's light on tired sub-references and heavy on low-budget filmmaking prowess. Dixon, whose hand was in every aspect of production from story to camera to editing, plays lead character Gwen opposite Tuesday Critz as Sophie (Critz also plays her own twin sister!) as a pair of assassins who steal a briefcase belonging to a freaked-out villain in drag named Jill (Joe Trione). The film is a non-stop parade of excellent fight scenes, fun performances, nible editing and camera angles, and perhaps best of all: a kickass training montage set to Pat Benatar's "Invincible"!
What I enjoyed most about BULLETS & MASCARA was how much it ended up resembling the films of 70's cult hero Jack Hill (SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, COFFY, SPIDER BABY), one of Tarantino's main influences, instead of the films of ol' Q himself. Hill's signature is that his movies always start out kinda cheesy and fun, but by the finale you are biting the shit out of your nails. Dixon and friends really pulled one over on me, because just when I was getting comfortable with their humor and style, here comes a third act full of twists, gore, and intensity that I wasn't expecting at all. Just like in Jack Hill's movies. I was glued to the screen by the end. Seriously.
I've seen far worse films by people twice Heather's age with six-figure budgets. Her hard work as an editor really shows here, as well as the effort on the part of all participants to truly make something unusual and cool. There are no weak links and no padding of the running time, just wall to wall fun and one motherfucker of an ending. Please Heather, don't be like other promising young female filmmakers we've seen disappear after one really awesome debut movie (Shasta Fairchild! DO YOU HEAR ME?). Let's see some more!
-Andrew (Gonzoriffic)
--On Blood on the Glass Slipper:
Heather Dixon and Joe Trione graduate from kung fu comedy to expletive exploitation in their sophomore short film BLOOD ON THE GLASS SLIPPER, proving that true grindhouse-style moviemaking is best left in the hands of people with no money and nothing to lose, and that it takes more than putting fake dirt and scratches on your video to do it right. Beginning with the sound of screeching tires over a black title screen, SLIPPER is an excellent 16-minute homage to the rough-and-ready 70s classics LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE complete with bickering criminals and machete-wielding chicks out for bloody revenge. Trione once again gives a completely over the top performance as the head of the gang of kidnappers, verbally and physically assaulting anyone and anything that happens to be in the same frame as his character. You can tell he's seen the right movies and understands the audience for exploitation film very well. Heather Dixon and her busty counterpart Jessica Cox counteract Trione's energized antics with believable reactions and stone cold female badass when it's time to turn the tables. Combined with absolutely outstanding photography, editing and music placement, it all adds up to 16 minutes of honest to goodness intensity that's great not because the filmmakers purposely tried to make a "bad" movie but rather they succeeded in making a fucking brilliant one.
Watch this film in its entirety on YouTube here and don't be surprised if the next movie from Dixon and Trione finally gets them the credit they truly deserve.
--Andrew (Gonzoriffic)
Give a young guy and his buddies a
camcorder and
some fake blood and chances are pretty good you'll end up with the kind
of shitty cookie-cutter comedy/horror flick writers like me have seen
dozens of times (and yes, I'm guilty of making one as well). If somehow
despite the complete lack of lighting, incompetent camera work and
garbled audio you do manage to be able to make out anything that's
going on, what does come across is generally nothing that Troma hasn't
done before, only less gooey and with one third the enthusiasm.
However, from my experience I've noticed that if you give that same
camcorder to a young girl, you'll get something a bit more interesting
and original. Why? Girls are smarter. It's fucking scientific fact.
Heather Dixon's BULLETS & MASCARA takes all the familiar locations of the aforementioned backyard horror romps - the woods, the park, mom & dad's basement - and uses them to present a KILL BILL-inspired kung fu action comedy that's light on tired sub-references and heavy on low-budget filmmaking prowess. Dixon, whose hand was in every aspect of production from story to camera to editing, plays lead character Gwen opposite Tuesday Critz as Sophie (Critz also plays her own twin sister!) as a pair of assassins who steal a briefcase belonging to a freaked-out villain in drag named Jill (Joe Trione). The film is a non-stop parade of excellent fight scenes, fun performances, nible editing and camera angles, and perhaps best of all: a kickass training montage set to Pat Benatar's "Invincible"!
What I enjoyed most about BULLETS & MASCARA was how much it ended up resembling the films of 70's cult hero Jack Hill (SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, COFFY, SPIDER BABY), one of Tarantino's main influences, instead of the films of ol' Q himself. Hill's signature is that his movies always start out kinda cheesy and fun, but by the finale you are biting the shit out of your nails. Dixon and friends really pulled one over on me, because just when I was getting comfortable with their humor and style, here comes a third act full of twists, gore, and intensity that I wasn't expecting at all. Just like in Jack Hill's movies. I was glued to the screen by the end. Seriously.
I've seen far worse films by people twice Heather's age with six-figure budgets. Her hard work as an editor really shows here, as well as the effort on the part of all participants to truly make something unusual and cool. There are no weak links and no padding of the running time, just wall to wall fun and one motherfucker of an ending. Please Heather, don't be like other promising young female filmmakers we've seen disappear after one really awesome debut movie (Shasta Fairchild! DO YOU HEAR ME?). Let's see some more!
-Andrew (Gonzoriffic)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--On Blood on the Glass Slipper:
Heather Dixon and Joe Trione graduate from kung fu comedy to expletive exploitation in their sophomore short film BLOOD ON THE GLASS SLIPPER, proving that true grindhouse-style moviemaking is best left in the hands of people with no money and nothing to lose, and that it takes more than putting fake dirt and scratches on your video to do it right. Beginning with the sound of screeching tires over a black title screen, SLIPPER is an excellent 16-minute homage to the rough-and-ready 70s classics LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE complete with bickering criminals and machete-wielding chicks out for bloody revenge. Trione once again gives a completely over the top performance as the head of the gang of kidnappers, verbally and physically assaulting anyone and anything that happens to be in the same frame as his character. You can tell he's seen the right movies and understands the audience for exploitation film very well. Heather Dixon and her busty counterpart Jessica Cox counteract Trione's energized antics with believable reactions and stone cold female badass when it's time to turn the tables. Combined with absolutely outstanding photography, editing and music placement, it all adds up to 16 minutes of honest to goodness intensity that's great not because the filmmakers purposely tried to make a "bad" movie but rather they succeeded in making a fucking brilliant one.
Watch this film in its entirety on YouTube here and don't be surprised if the next movie from Dixon and Trione finally gets them the credit they truly deserve.
--Andrew (Gonzoriffic)