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[DVD Review] ‘Some Guy Who Kills People’ Is Witty Fun

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A take on the fable of ‘don’t pick on kids because they’ll snap one day and kill you’, Some Guy Who Kills People is a simple story about Ken Boyd – a man recently released from a mental hospital. After surviving a traumatic beat down by the high school basketball team – and a subsequent suicide attempt –Some Guy adds an extra element to the tortured kid story by giving them a bullied child of their own to take care of. It’s a satisfying movie in that you can tune out and enjoy yourself while watching it, but by adding that little extra element – of a down and out type trying desperately to have a normal life – it makes it that much more enjoyable.

Rarely do such movies show a soft side to such a main character, and perhaps it is Kevin Corrigan’s portrayal of Ken Boyd that captures it. Dealing with living his mother (Karen Black) at age 34, Boyd already has mountains to conquer – but add in a disrespectful boss of the local ice cream parlor that he’s employed at – and the additional struggle of trying to court an interested woman – and Corrigan’s acting speaks volumes. He is able to pull off anguish and heartbreak with a blank face. Of course, witty dialogue – and a well rounded cast – amplifies simple things – like Boyd’s rough denial of an extra scoop of ice cream on the house to a repeat patron. For being so simple in every way, it is great to see just how fulfilling it is.

The DVD includes a sparse amount of extras, but in the case of Some Guy Who Kills People – it is all about quality vs. quantity. The short film The Fifth, which inspired the film, is superb. Four guys sit waiting for their fifth buddy to show up to a poker game. When he finally does, he drags in a dead body – shocking a new member of the group. Casually the group explains that he is a serial killer – and has been since being laid off four months ago. As the 12 minute short continues, it grows more absurd. Like the full length feature film, blood goes spurting, convincing dialogue is thrown about and there are plenty of laughs.

Besides a trailer and commentary with director Jack Perez and writer/producer Ryan Levin, there is a Making Of Featurette. This delightful piece includes how many of the effects were done. It is refreshing to see people still using simple methods of making blood spray and severed hands and heads look real in lieu of CGI. Also mentioned is the amazing cast. Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick, Lucy Davis, Karen Black and the incredible young Ariel Gade – make up an ensemble that are brutally convincing as their characters. Their dedication to delivering believable performances. Kevin Corrigan alone is underrated as an actor. He casually portrays Ken Boyd to the point that Ken is real. Ariel Gade plays Ken’s daughter Amy. Gade’s ability to bring Amy to life is amazing for being as young as she is. She is truly deserving of more roles. There is also a bit interview with executive producer John Landis in the Making Of that shows his approval of the film.

While movies usually lean to either going with full on gore or full on intelligent storyline – Some Guy Who Kills People is smart and gratifying in that it delivers both. For that, it will be a welcome addition to any DVD library.

Score: 4/5

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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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