SUBURBAN GOTHIC [2014]

Director Richard Bates, Jr.'s sophomore effort comes in the form of a piece of shit called Suburban Gothic.
 This "zany" horror-comedy tells the tale of a lost in life twenty-something who moves back into his parent's house to discover there's angry dead folk floating around.  While leads Matthew Gray Gubler & Kat Dennings have enough personality to make them a delight to watch, the film itself is a mish-mash of unevenly timed humor, embarrassingly horrible CGI FX and moments of contrived weirdness, many of which seemed sloppily improvised.  With a pack of cameos from cult-film staples like John Waters, The Soska Sisters and Jeffrey Combs the film has it's audience built-in however they should prepare to be disappointed.

1 musical toenail out of 5

EXCISION [2012]

Like May & American Mary, Richard Bates Jr.'s Excision is one of those unique character study films that lingers with you long after it's done.

At times it's intensely disturbing, shockingly funny, unapologetic in it's twisted execution and carried by a fearless performance from 90210's AnnaLynne McCord.  As outlandish as the film is on the outside, underneath it's tale of family and social dysfunctions is painfully realistic grounding the film in an unsettling reality. Filled with a gaggle of cameos from cult film fan favorites, Excision is definitely aiming for the oddball crowd that doesn't mind going on an uncomfortable yet entertaining ride.

3½ truth horns out of 5