Boston Underground Film Festival 2009

“One of the very few memorable horror flicks of the year, with daring forays into areas fright films generally fear to tread in their adherence to genre rules.” --Roy Frumkes, Films In Review “There’s a certain vibe about the decade’s (1970s) drive-in fare that’s hard to define and harder to capture, no matter how much gritty photography, explicit gore and cannibal-dinner-table setpieces one incorporates. One new production that gets it, and gets it right, is Plague Town.” --Michael Gingold, Fangoria Nobody much likes family vacations, but for the Monohans, it'll be the worst vacation of their lives. During an ill-planned day trip to explore ancient Gaelic ruins in Western Ireland, the family naturally misses the last bus back to civilization. The locals aren't entirely helpful. Perhaps that's due to the fact that they've become a very... exclusive population that looks at outsiders as breeding stock, a way to purify their demented bloodline. From the first shocking scene to the showdown lead by a blind girl with bulging plastic doll’s eyes tied over her own, you'll wonder just what will happen next. Did you hear that? Was that a child giggling? What's wrong with his face!? Genuinely chilling, this survivalist horror film in the vein of 70s films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes explores the consequences of what some consider the best of intentions. Not to be missed, this directorial debut has shown at several film festivals and has already been scooped up for a DVD release by Dark Sky Films.

Fatz Geronimo. Mitzi Mozzarella. Billy Bob (no, not Thornton). You won’t hear about the tumultuous times of these fallen stars or their powerful fan base on VH1’s Behind the Music. Which is kind of surprising actually, because the background story here is every bit as enthralling as that of Journey or Quiet Riot. Consisting entirely of animatronic robots, The Rock-afire Explosion dazzled (and in some cases, frightened) children across America at pre-Chuck E. Cheese child-tainment chain, Showbiz Pizza. For those of us that don’t recall the ‘Biz (or haven’t caught the circulating Rock-afire YouTube videos), director Brett Whitcomb’s touching doc serves up a nostalgic slice from a parallel 80’s universe, focusing primarily on the lives of Rock-afire inventor Aaron Fechter, and the Rock-afire’s biggest fan, Chris Thrash. If you love films about robots, obsessive fans and/or obscure 80s pop culture, you’re in for an absolute treat. Completely devoid of irony or condescension, Rock-afire is a colorful celebration of passionate, dedicated fandom in the unlikeliest of places. Nerd pride, represent!