THE DEAD HOUR

THE DEAD HOUR (2010/2011)
US
Directed by Daniel Iske

PLOT:
     A rouge radio DJ tells tales over the air of stories that could have happened or is just possibly heresay.

REVIEW:
     The director Daniel Iske got hold of me in February about reviewing his short web series The Dead Hour. I feel bad about having it take so long for me to actually get to it, but I finally did. So, as this is a series of shorts, I'm going to be doing a quick review of each one separately. 

     DONOR-
  PLOT: In a time where banks are failing, homes are shuttered, and one-and-a-half out of ten people are unemployed, Seth discovers a way to maintain the lifestyle he and his wife have become accustomed to…but at a crippling cost.

     REVIEW:  Wow. What a depressing little story, but yet considering current times it's not that hard to imagine if something like this actually happening. This was a nice little piece of viciousness thanks to the wife who takes advantage of Seth's willingness to provide. Well acted for the most part. Alas, the doctor brought a sense of  comedy where it could have been so much darker and more evil considering what was going on.

     ALCOHOLIC VAMPIRE-
  PLOT: Vic Henderson considers himself a cursed man. He yearns to be free of addiction, but defeat drives him further into a world of deadly indulgence. When the twelve steps continue to fail, can anything bring peace to an addict?

     REVIEW: This one is probably my favorite of the 5 episodes. If any of these get the closest to the feel of HBO series Tales From The Crypt it would be this one. Vic is a vampire that has to drink to be able to kill, and hates himself for it. Even going as far as using A1 steak sauce (check when he opens the fridge, love it nice touch.) At first I wasn't sure about this one yet it pays off in the end with it's humor, though I could have done without the scream at the end. This was 18 minutes well spent.

     COUGAR-
  PLOT: Miss Juniper has just moved into the neighborhood, and she hasn't gone unnoticed by anyone — especially the local, hormone-strung high school boys. As she makes herself at home, the neighbors get a little closer than they expected.

     REVIEW: Michelle Schrage is the best part of this episode in a take on the werewolf genre and country's past obsession with cougars. If there was an episode that could have been more, it would have been this one as so much potential of the cougar's back story is there but never talked really talked about considering she has a trunk full of clothes from all the boys she seduced.  I think the one thing that turned me off of this episode is the insipid and juvenile blabbering of the teenage boys.

     THE HOLE-
  PLOT: After 40 years of working, Arthur Paxton is ready to retire. Or is he? While his wife, Betty, encourages him to relax, his mind refuses to listen. An unexplainable discovery breathes new ambition into Arthur's life, but leads him into a deep hole of unanswered questions.

     REVIEW: The Hole episode while it had a lot of potential and a great premise, I found myself getting rather bored about halfway through its 17 minute run. It was well acted and shot, I just think the pacing could have been better with it. I did like that it hinted that Arthur lost his mind he was so bored and started murdering to give him something to do though.

     CANNIBAL GIRLS-
  PLOT: In the barren fields of middle America, two young girls fight to stay alive following a near apocalyptic disaster. With much of the world's food supply eliminated, they have no choice but to feed on the flesh of other humans. What happens to the mind when living becomes the only thing to live for.

     REVIEW: This one deals with the loss of reality and the extent someone will go to survive. I like the fact that it's left up to the viewer if the second survivor was actually there or a figment of a fractured psyche. Only thing that bothered me in this is that it had the usual "girl fall down and can't get up so I should scream" scene. This one has a lot of potential to become more than what it is.

     All in all not a bad set of stories that was well done for being low budget with some interesting twist to some of the usual horror tropes.

BEST DEATH:
     Seth's death of life so where he can provide for his family.

BEST LINE:
     "Am I detecting a little bourbon here? Oh Harry, you've been a bad boy! I must say, it's going to make this a whole lot easier." From Alcoholic Vampire

FUN FACTS:
     To watch all five episodes, just follow the link: http://www.thedeadhour.com/