Morris County (Unearthed Films)/Skinless (Whacked Movies)/H.P. Lovecraft's The Thing On The Doorstep (all 2014 MVD Visual DVDs)

Here are some B-movies you might want to know about...

Morris County (2014/Unearthed Films/MVD Visual DVD)

Picture: C+ Sound: C Extras: B Film: C+

Matthew Garrett's Morris County is a difficult film to watch but intriguing enough to give a chance to. The film is an anthology film that follows three poor souls with depressing tales of horror in Morris County with a cast that includes Darcy Miller, Albie Selznick, Pamela Stewart, Erik Fransden and Alice Cannon.

The first story follows a wayward youth, Ellie (Miller), who has drifted away from her parents and starts to party. However, Ellie is not what she seems and her secrets coincide with the changing of her young body.

The second story follows a Jewish father who is trying to deal with his wife cheating on him. He leaves his son home alone and goes out to the local video store where he picks up a man of the evening for a little knob slobbing. Things do not go according to plan and the two get in a fight and arrested. His wife bails him out and things go south from there for them.

The third and final story follows a kind elderly lady who loses her job and forced into early retirement with her husband. However, her husband dies one night. Not being able to live without him she leaves his rotting corpse in her home as if he never passed.

The production value and acting isn't terrible though the film could have benefited with a recognizable face or two. The makeup SFX by Brian Spears and Peter Gerener aren't terrible but all in all the film would probably be deemed to controversial by the MPAA which is why its not a terrible underground film.

Picture and sound on the disc are standard for DVD sporting a standard def transfer with anamorphic widescreen in 1.78:1 and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track.

Extras are massive including...

Late-night, beer-infused commentary by writer/director Garrett and Kier-La Janisse, author of HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN

Commentary by Garrett, producer Thomas Rondinella, associate producer Adam Schoon and co-editor Arin Sang-urai

Ellie Revisited: A conversation with actress Miller

BEATING HEARTS, Garrett's award-winning, critically lauded dramatic horror short

BEATING HEARTS commentary by Garrett, Rondinella, Schoon and Sang-urai

BEATING HEARTS Revisited: A conversation with actresses Gianna and Georgeanne Bruzzese

Skinless (2014/Whacked Movies/MVD DVD)

Picture: C Sound: C Extras: C Film: D

If you are a fan of the Re-Animator films, then you will (maybe) be on board with this low budget Sci-fi/Horror production. While not a complete waste of your time, at least they tried a little here with some cool special effects and gratuitous nude shots but aside from that this is a big ole' pile of been there done that only done worse than what you have seen before. The acting is mediocre at best, the dialogue is long winded, and there are plot holes that make you scratch your noggin.

Skinless centers around a brilliant oncologist named Peter Peel who discovers a possible cure for skin cancer in the belly of an exotic parasite. When he tests the cure on himself, his world is shattered and a monster is born. Skinless is a sad tale of madness, murder, monsters, and love. The micro-budgeted film was produced for 2000 bucks which is pretty impressive considering the film has a run time of 80 minutes.

Picture and sound are a little below standards considering the budget of the film. Presented in standard definition with anamorphic widescreen, this Region Free NTSC disc features a standard, lossy 2.0 Dolby Digital Track that is fine considering the nature of the beast.

Extras include commentary, production diaries featuring the director's SFX secrets and a trailer.

H.P. Lovecraft's The Thing On The Doorstep (2014/MVD Visual DVD)

Picture: C Sound: C- Extras: D Film: C-

H.P. Lovecraft is one of the greatest authors of all time which is why it's fascinating to me that more modern filmmakers haven't picked up more of his short stories and transferred them to film. Of course Stuart Gordon (director of Re-Animator) was passionate about the author but to date nobody has successfully pulled out Chtulu on film. This low budget film directed by Tom Gliserman, The Thing On The Doorstep, has an interesting narrative but a terrible green color filter that uglies up all of the nice shots of the film and kept consistently taking me out of it. I guess the filmmaker was going for a David Fincher-esque color scheme but didn't quite succeed.

Minor Spoilers ahead:

The story, if you are not familiar, begins with Daniel Upton, the story's narrator, who explains that he has killed his best friend, Edward Derby, and that he hopes his account will prove that he is not a murderer. He begins by describing Derby's life and career. He then tells of Asenath Waite, and how Derby and she wed.

A few years later, people start to notice a change in Derby's abilities. He confides in Upton, telling him strange stories of Asenath, and how he believes her father, Ephraim Waite, may not actually be dead. Upton is called to pick up Derby who has been found in Chesuncook, Maine, rambling incoherently. On the trip back, Derby tells of Asenath using his body, and suggests that it is in fact Ephraim who resides in the body of Asenath. Before finishing, he has a small seizure and rapidly changes personality, asking Upton to ignore what he might have just said.

A few months later, Derby shows up at Upton's door and says he has found a way to keep Asenath away; to stop her from using his body. Derby finishes renovations on his old family house, yet seems strangely reluctant to leave Asenath's old place. Upton receives a visit from Derby, who begins raving about his wife and father-in-law. Upton gets him to sleep, but has Derby taken to Arkham Sanitarium. The Sanitarium calls Upton to tell him that Derby's reason has suddenly come back, though upon visiting, Upton can see it is not the true personality of Edward Derby.

Upton is roused from his sleep by a knocking at his door, using Edward's old signal of three-and-two strokes. Upton believes it may be Derby, but opens his door to find a dwarfed, humped messenger, carrying a letter from Derby. The letter explains that Derby had in fact killed Asenath and buried her body in their cellar. What happens next I will leave you to find out in the film!

Picture and sound on the disc are standard to DVD with a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track and a standard definition transfer that suffers from that awful green color mix.

No extras are on the disc with the exception of a Trailer.

- James Harland Lockhart V

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv