TOOLBOX MURDERS [2004]

Director Tobe Hooper has a great ol' time with Toolbox Murders, a slasher remake of the 1978 cult classic thriller of the same name.  

A young couple moves into a run down old apartment building filled with all sorts of colorful characters...and one of them likes slaughtering folks with objects found in his hardware store goody-bag.
There's a number of gruesome kills but thankfully that's not Hooper's only concern and the viewer is treated to a wonderfully creepy atmosphere filling the walls of the old building.  Angela Bettis gives it her all and it elevates the so-so story into something better than it would be without her.  All in all, the film goes to some creepy horrific places but everyone involved is in it for a great time and it shows in the roller coaster end product.  

3 teeth in the wall out of 5

Carrie (2002)

It seems pointless remaking a film that was perfect the first time around, but when it’s a pilot for a planned TV series (that didn't surface) it makes viewing it a little easier. Its limitations and reliance on TV conventions are clear to see, but one thing saves it: Angela Bettis. She’s fantastic. She does awkwardly withdrawn and vulnerable wonderfully. She’s no Sissy Spacek but she’s the next best thing.
Using the same source novel means some of the dialogue is identical to the previous film version. When it adds new scenes it avoids the kind of irritating teen-speak that plagues modern horror movies; I applaud it for that. It also adds some things from the novel that were missing before.

2½ police reports out of 5

MAY [2002]

Director Lucky McKee's May is an unnerving, darkly humorous character study that slowly creeps under your skin with twisted delight and tragedy.
Angela Bettis is absolutely fantastic as the title character who blends vulnerability and frighteningly fucked up without ever missing a beat.  It's aided by some bizarrely suiting supporting performances, a quirky yet intoxicating soundtrack and delicately executed storytelling that unravels like the loose strands barely holding May's sanity together.  This unique little horror film sneaks up on you and leaves you in traumatized awe.  

4 kitties on ice out of 5

THE ABC'S OF DEATH [2013]

The ABC's Of Death is a collection of short segments by a variety of genre directors & film mediums from all over the world, including Ti West, Angela Bettis, Xavier Gens, Jake West, Adam Wingard & more.

Each segment is assigned a letter of the alphabet that features a death that must relate to it.  In a way it reminded me of the teaser intros to Six Feet Under, as I tried to guess how each death was going to play out in the often bizarre scenario. The quality of each segment ranges from great to terrible but never really seems to hurt the sickening enjoyment of it all.  They're wildly funny, immensely disturbing and sometimes excruciatingly disgusting.  It's not high art but packs in enough squeamish laughter to please horror film nuts for an evening.

2½ letter blocks in blood out of 5

SCAR [2007]

Sometimes all you're looking for is trashy horror films and that's when something like Scar falls right into your lap.  

Angela Bettis' strong screen presence and a plethora of grisly torture scenes deliver the goods, however that's about it.  It's painfully predictable, poorly acted and filmed with some sort of strange cheap 3D conversion that causes the picture to go a little wonky in some scenes.  All in all, if this is what you're looking for then it's short enough to not wear out it's welcome but not good enough to recommend.  

2 celebrations of the fish out of 5

The Woman (2011)

A feral woman is forcibly taken from her forest environment by a family man and shown the nature of 'civilised' living.
The only way I could watch The Woman was to think of the work as a catalyst for self-analysis, not an end product in itself. My emotions were put through a mangler, torn apart, set on fire and then ground into dust.
Most of the film doesn't need words; at times it felt like they were included simply to distract from the crushing power of the imagery, to soften the impact by supplying something familiar. Conversely, they connected me to the flawed characters and I began to hate the words.
It'll polarise an audience. It may even polarise the individual.

4 baser instincts out of 5