THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN [2014]

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Town That Dreaded Sundown is simultaneously a remake of the 1976 grindhouse slasher of the same name and a bit of a meta-sequel.
Set in the same town, the story takes place in a world where the 1976 film is a cult classic and watched annually only to birth a copycat killer that follows the film's murders from beginning to end.  This grim and atmospheric little piece has some wonderful tracking shots and scene set-ups with some great performances to boot but in the end it just isn't all that scary.  Which is fine but it seems to take itself way too seriously, so the fun of cheap laughs are quickly tossed out the window as well.  It's nowhere near as shitty as any of the other slasher flick remakes as of lately but it doesn't quite succeed in standing aside any of the more recent originals either.

2½ trombones of death out of 5

BITTER FEAST [2010]

TV's Mercy's James LeGros and The Blair Witch Project's Josh Leonard play the leads in acclaimed indie-director Joe Maggio's deliciously wicked thriller about a disgruntled chef taking his woes out on a nasty food critic.

Going into the film I was expecting a disgusting comedy of sorts but came out with something much different. It does have it's fair share of nasty humorous bits but for the most part it is deadly serious. If you're a chef, like myself, or any other sort of artist for that matter and had your work publicly insulted, then this one will hit home and leave a smile on your face.

It's not a perfect film but it's a viciously fun one that proves you can still make a good flick on a VERY limited budget.

4 Celebrity Chef Cameos out of 5