In addition to the usual reviews and comments you would find on a horror movie blog, this is also a document of the wonderfully vast horror movie section of the video store I worked at in my youth.

Monday, May 6, 2013

I'm Baaack.

Hello everyone, I hope you have been keeping well. I am happy to report that Lively, my upcoming short film has now – apart from a few exteriors postponed due to weather – finished shooting, so it's time I get back to it here. First up, is a little movie I've been meaning to talk about for a very long time...

Five years ago, I began hearing about a little indie called Bio Slime. I posted about it many times here, and for a while it seemed like it would never see the light of day. Over time, it changed its name to Contagion and then in lieu of Soderbergh's little film, went back to Bio Slime. After eventually being released on DVD by Shriek Show in March, I finally got my hands on it.


The inhabitants of a low-rent apartment building find themselves trapped inside with a ravenous slime creature.

Bio Slime is like a lot of low budget titles out there. The majority of it is rough, but has one or two really solid elements preventing it from being dismissed outright. The setup is a little trying – why is it that people can't resist fucking with things that clearly say “danger” and “biohazard” – with seemingly half the cast pilfered from the adult entertainment world. It would certainly explain why there was a porn filming next door to the apartment where the movie takes place.

The first act of Bio Slime kind of reminded me of Jim Mickle's wonderful debut Mulberry Street, except without any of the likable characters. Our protagonist, a drunken artist named Troy (Vinnie Bilancio) or “Not Leo Rossi” as I like to call him, manages to carry the film, but still lacks the charisma of Mr. Rossi.

Hey, I happen to think Leo Rossi is the shit (Relentless FTW!)

The term “rag tag” doesn't really cover it.

Bio Slime wears its influences, like Stephen King's The Raft, The Blob and The Thing on its sleeve, which is almost be a detriment at times. In reference to the latter, a character does utter the line;

“Look guys, I appreciate what you've been through. Really, I do. But I'd care not to spend the rest of this night, duct taped on this fucking bed!”

That was a cringe worthy moment. It was one of those things you see happening and your mind wants to throw up a little.

However, once the creature is loose, this movie takes a turn for the better. Tom Devlin's creature effects are actually pretty impressive, especially the ones in the last few set pieces. I really appreciated that director John Lechago made practical a priority, as there are movies that cost a thousand times more that end up looking worse because they CG'd everything. There are, of course, some digital effects in Bio Slime, but are only implemented when they couldn't get what they needed in camera. I really liked the design of the main creature, as well. To me, it resembled a Sentinel from The Matrix films with a splash of H.R Giger. That's pretty solid for a production that only cost fifty grand.

Gia Paloma showing off Bio Slime's best assets...

And knowing that, I have to say that despite all the movie's flaws, I have to admire Lechago's “just get out and do it” attitude. In true indie fashion, he overcame the many obstacles in his way, including the long wait to get it out there, and made his movie, his way.

So, is Bio Slime a good movie? By most definitions, no. However, I do feel it delivers on the promise of the trailer I saw all those many years ago, which featured a lot of slime-covered ladies – I'm not ashamed to say that the sequences with the goo-slicked Victoria Del Mare & Gia Paloma are downright sexy – and cool effed-up creatures.

1 comment:

James E Lutz said...

I appreciate you for giving such an informative portal. I find your site very informative and interesting and I like it! Thank you very much.used cubicles for sale