October is the perfect time of year for a horror anthology: you get so much bang for your buck with an anthology and Bring On The Damned! is no slouch when it comes to delivering a buffet of horror genres. Written and directed by Brandon Bassham (The Slashening), Bring On The Damned! features five different stories, each rooted in a different sin.
Blasphemy utilizes the Found Footage genre to do a hilarious send up of religion and exorcism. When an exorcism is needed, the church needs Dr. Sara Carmichael to prove that the patient needs an exorcism and not just some epilepsy medication. Church requires a thorough scientific examination before they will perform an exorcism. When it’s clear that a priest is needed, we are treated to some truly offensive Catholic Church humor and just when you think Bassham has hit peak absurdity, Jesus comes in to show off his wrestling moves. 4/5 stars
Obsession takes New Wave French cinema and gives it a sweet serial killer spin. Much like the Truffaut’s classic Jules and Jim, Johnny Lee and Sam are two men enchanted by the same woman. Sam and Johnny Lee meet cute when they go to the same place to bury their respective victims and then form an unusual friendship of sorts. When Johnny Lee meets Claudette, but does not kill her, but rather embarks on a relationship with her, Sam is not pleased. The old timey vibe and Leatherface dance number are bizarrely sweet, but the polaroid photo developing gimmick is the best bit. 3/5 stars
Perversion starts out like a truly macabre episode of Breaking Amish: Charlotte is just a girl trying to have an orgasm and after visiting a Disco club, she finds out that her sexual needs involve homicide. Sydney Hirsch delivers such a deadpan comedic performance that could only be matched by Johnny Ferri as Joey Carbone. There is a lot going on in this story: a woman having her sexual awakening, a token Guido character who does a particularly great Saturday Night Fever monologue and dance, all interspersed with Charlotte’s murderous escapades. There’s an overall I Spit On Your Grave (minus the rape) feeling that, mixed with the disco, is gory and absurd in all of the right ways. 3/5 stars
Nihilism is a full on noir homage that features Ferri in another great performance as Brack. He’s a guy who has a lot of emotions and memories from fighting aliens back in the war. Did he, perhaps, have some unsavory relationships with an alien? Maybe. Brack hangs out in smokey, serious bars and he has very serious, brooding conversations about blackmail, the war and aliens. This is basically what Ryan Murphy wishes his Death Valley installment of American Horror Story Season 10 was. It’s a bit long in the tooth, but I suppose noir isn’t meant to make you feel like going out and learning how to do The Hustle and Rollercoaster. 3/5vstars Sadism is the most amazing Josie and the Pussycasts/Law and Order SVU mashup you never knew was missing from you life. Tara and the Tiger Babes:Violent Sex Crimes are called in to catch the Bottom Butcher when the city detectives realize they are in over their heads. The Bottom Butcher has claimed nine new victims whom he has violated, mutilated, violated some more, murdered and then violated their corpses. He’s a real baddie and only Tara and The Tiger Babes have the smarts to find him. With original songs, Hanna Barberra music montages and a subplot involving the token guy friend, this segment is what every Gen X kid who likes spooky shit dreams about. It’s bubblegum plastic fantastic totally amazing and I demand a full length feature. 5/5 stars
Overall, Bring On The Damned! is a fun and absurd way to help usher in spooky season. Bassham has been a part of the Troma family for some time now, and if you’re familiar with his previous films Fear Town USA and The Slashening, then you know exactly what you are in for. If you’re a Troma fan in general, then you also know what to expect. The gags are low budget, the jokes range from high brow to lower than the gutter, (a priest talking about his past exploits with children was a personal favorite), and every story is delightfully unexpected. A tighter run time would benefit some of the segments, but when it comes to Troma films, it’s the unpolished bits that are the most charming and you can see Bassham’s enthusiasm and love of the genre in all of it’s many forms.
Lisa Fremont
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