Brutal Massacre: A Comedy (2007)

~Cast~

David Naughton..................Harry Penderecki

Brian O' Halloran................Jay

Ellen Sandwiess..................Natalie

Gerry Bednob.....................Hanu

Ken Foree..........................Carl

Gunnar Hansen..................Fetkovich

Directed by.......................Harry Penderecki Stevan Mena

My Rating:

        "I don't want you touching my popcorn with the hand you use to masturbate with!"

    Back in 2004, my friends and I went to the premiere of an indie film called Malevolence in Worcester, Ma. There I met director Stevan Mena and star of the film Brandon Johnson, I love the film and became an instant fan of Mena's from that point on. For a while nothing was heard from him until now, I got word of there being a premiere in Long Island for his newest film entitled BRUTAL MASSACRE: A COMEDY so I got the same friends, packed up the car and off we went to Long Island (Four and a half hour drive that turned into a 6 hour drive!!) to be greeted by half the cast and crew of BM:AC. 9:45 rolled on by and the movie began, I was a little worried about the film since not many people go from doing a straight up horror film to a flat out slapstick comedy/mockumentary but Mena knows his shit! Like I said before, Stevan Mena is the NEXT big name to be looking out for, Brutal Massacre only exemplifies my theory. This had to be the funniest film I have seen all year and most entertaining by far. My friend Bob said it best, "This is the THIS IS SPINAL TAP for the new millennium!" I couldn't agree more! Famous Mockumentary director Christopher Guest needs to step his game up cause Stevan Mena just came to town, and dominated it! From the actors to the directing, to the script and the hysterical one liners, the cameos and the random jokes, BRUTAL MASSACRE is by the far the single best comedy film of 2007, hands down! It is destined to be the next big film that comes out of nowhere, hits the cinema's, and is quoted for years to come! You are probably asking yourself "So was the 6 hour car ride up, and 5 hour car ride back worth it for a 90 minute film? Answer...you bet your ass it was! Plus, I got to see Gunnar Hansen do something he has never done before, be unleashed as a comedian and he is HYSTERICAL!

The movie is filmed as a documentary with people being interviewed and the such, the story goes like this...Harry Penderecki (David Naughton), was at one time a beloved horror film maker who now finds himself on the outs with Hollywood. He hasn't had a hit film in years, his close friends, relatives, even his agent, all believe he's washed up. Harry is given one last chance to redeem himself and show the world that he isn't kaput with what may in fact be his final picture. Entitled Brutal Massacre, the film becomes just that, as the cast and crew find themselves on what is deemed a cursed set for a film that should never have been made in the first place. Harry must suffer and endure one problem after the next all in an attempt to make one more picture...can he do it or is it high time that Harry throws in the towel and picks up the mop?

    Brutal Massacre is creative, original, witty, hysterical, intelligent and one hell of an entertainingly funny movie that works for both horror fans and non horror fans alike. Keep in mind, I saw a rough cut and things will be different in the final cut, fact is that if this version was THIS good, than the final cut can only improve on it. What I found ironic was the fact that the movie is about the making of a horror film called BRUTAL MASSACRE and stars a bunch of horror icons such as David Naughton (American Werewolf in London) Ellen Sandwiess (Evil Dead) Gunnar Hansen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) Betsy Baker (Evil Dead) and yet, the film is a flat out COMEDY. I have nothing negative to say about this film, it took my funny bone and broke it in two from over usage.

    Acting wise I couldn't have asked for a better cast than what was presented to me, everyone was  perfect in their roles and each added something to the film that had they NOT been there, BRUTAL MASSACRE wouldn't have been as good. Let's start with David Naughton who plays washed up director Harry Penderecki, a man making his final attempt to get back into the spotlight. Naughton was spectacular as Harry, you cared for him in a way that had you not, this film would have failed. Brian O'Halloran plays Jay the set designer and is hysterical, one of my favorite parts is when he has a giant spider on his back and he spazzes out. Ellen Sandwiess plays Natalie, Harry's agent and it was great seeing her in this. The aftermath of "cleaning" scene was the best though...don't want to spoil it for those who have yet to see it. Gerry Bedknob was probably the funniest person in this film or at least came a close second. His judo chops had me in stitches! He plays the director of photography Hanu and was awesome. Ken Fore played the lighting guy Carl and he was really good in this, nice to see him playing something outside of the horror genre. Now, to the man of the hour, Stevan Mena gave us a breakthrough performance from none other than GUNNAR HANSEN, this man needs to star in his own comedy cause he is HYSTERICAL! Every line he says, every second he is on screen, he is AMAZING! Gunnar plays Fetkovich, a vulgar, beer drinking nutcase who owns the house that they are filming in. Priceless performance that had me laughing so hard, my ribs hurt.

    Steven Mena wowed me before with his directing style in MALEVOLENCE  and is an inspiration to ALL indie filmmakers out there. Brutal Massacre is living proof that he is not a one-trick pony and can take on more than just the horror genre. Stevan breaks into the comedy world with a film that rivals comedy classics such as "This is Spinal Tap", "Best In Show" and even "Borat"! Mena is an unstoppable machine that keeps one-upping himself with every film he puts out! Like I said before, Stevan will be the next BIG thing...mark my words people. You read it here and you can quote me on this, in 20 years when he is directing big budget films, you can look back and say "KAHR was right!" Amazing job Stevan, keep doing the magic that you do so well!

    Gore wise, this film has pretty much nothing and nudity wise, we get one girl taking it off several times and another girl who shows one breast.

I say, Brutal Massacre is the best comedy film I have seen all year, this is a MUST see for everyone who wants to see a GOOD indie film. Stevan Mena has a cast that worked so great together that they made magic with this film. When this movie begins playing in a theatre near you, make it your job to go see it cause you will be kicking your self in the ass if you miss it! I can't wait to see it again and I can't wait to see more from Stevan Mena, there is a reason we are fans here and its cause he is creating some of the best films in years. Brutal Massacre is a comic gem that will live on for generations to come! Hats off to him, go see BRUTAL MASSACRE or else we will send Gunnar hansen to your house and he will "Burn that mother fucker to the ground!" 

Special Trailer: