Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Jul 17, 2011 16:10:52 GMT -5
Plot:Vixen Highway 2006: It Came from Uranus!(2010) is an updated homage to 60's and 70's exploitation pictures & a re-imaging, re-regurgitation and semi-sequel to John Ervin's original 'Vixen Highway'; by Canadian schlock-meister: Tony 'Tex' Watt (Frankenpimp). This motion picture is a Faustian-tale, which takes place in Minnesota where the ailing, egotistical and sexually perverted rock-star Bobby Barzell (who sold his soul for wealth and rock and roll stardom) awaits a liver transplant from a psychotic fugitive of the law; as a vengeful, demonic alien tries to collect a past debt. This multi-genre feature is chock-full of Blood, Breasts, Bullets and Beasts ... an interstate, interplanetary menagerie of bad-assery!
Cast:
Tony Watt
Vivita
Amabelle Singson
James Taggart
John Ervin
Angela Faulkner
Alyssa Nicole Pallett
Martin Magee
Shauna Howe
Chris Kerley
Brandon Watt
Dobby Dobson
Reg Hartt
Ashleigh Garbatt
Deanna Prall
My Thoughts:Another weird one from Watt.
Review:"Vixen Highway:It Came From Uranus" is the sequel to "Vixen Highway" (2001). It follows the strange exploits of an even stranger band of characters in the state of Minnesota. In that regard, it's probably one of the few indie horror pictures, if any...that has used Minnesota as a backdrop for future events. The movie is certainly in the vein of previous Tony Watt pictures such as "Frankenpimp". Watt, a nightclub entertainer who's also an ex-musician and in between all of that, finds time to direct no-budget indie horror films...really has a penchant for creating off the wall characters.
And putting them in off the wall situations. But I wish the guy had more of a budget behind his movies. Granted, the obvious point of "Vixen Highway", is to be in the vein of the 70's and 80's exploitation films. Yet at the same time, blend some of that crazy 80's horror element into the mix as well. As the 80's and in some cases the 70's, were a time where a lot of horror films that didn't make much sense plot and story wise, came and went. And while they were fun to watch, a good portion of them didn't make a lick of sense.
"Vixen Highway:It Came From Uranus", also has a 50's scifi/alien space movie tone to it as well with the music used in some scenes, and also the fact that the movies main villain is a demonic alien entity. You can tell Watt is really a guy who likes the older offerings of the genre. And isn't much for a ton of the new stuff made after 1990 I would presume. But with more money, the kind of money put behind the every-weekend straight-to-dvd ghost and or slasher film, I think Watt could go down as possibly the next Rob Zombie.
You may not have liked Rob's remake of "Halloween" or even "H2", but "HO1C" and "The Devil's Rejects" were all good pieces of work. I think like Rob, Tony has a penchant for creating these strange horror'esque scenarios and characters. But the budgets for Tony's films are so small, that these characters have little room to manuever, and thus at times look kind of silly and ridiculous. As opposed to having the full effect of being weird, strange, and or funny.
The movies story also takes many liberties with just all kinds of strange events and twists. I think maybe Watt might be too unsafe for movie studios to touch his work. As this film is pretty heavy on the push-the-envelope side, and also is quite long. At nearly 3 hours! Good luck getting a 100 minute horror movie into cinemas these days. Much less selling a major studio on why they should pony up money for a 2 hour and 40 minute indie about demon aliens and pimp hitmen.
But then again, maybe Watt is just a guy who cares more about film and having fun making movies. Instead of auditioning his work for Paramount, Miramax, or any of the other big film houses. Fans of old horror films, and old exploitation movies alike, will like "Vixen Highway:It Came From Uranus". I personally thought the movie was a decent exercise in filmmaking, but a bit too much on the long side.
And also the characters were not as funny as the ones in a movie like "Frankenpimp". Even though some of the "Frankenpimp" characters make appearances in "Vixen Highway"..."Frankenpimp" had a whole different story to work with. A story which I thought was better than what "Vixen Highway" used. Watt of course stars in the movie as the Space Demon who is causing so much trouble for the films heroes and heroines. But I also felt Vixen Highway under utilized the title characters. The Vixen Gang.
Which was most likely because the actress Vivita, plays all three members of the Vixen Gang! And she also quadruples as a co-director of the movie as well. Go figure! All in all, if you're a fan of Watt's stuff or his style of filmmaking in general. Or even his characters, you'll like "Vixen Highway:It Came From Uranus". I thought the movie was a decent flick, but "Frankenpimp" was far superior. Watt actually kind of takes a small step back here with this film. But nothing major.
Positives:More off the wall characters, and good attempt at blending exploitation cinema with schlock horror and 50's scifi genres.
Negatives:Just not a very impactful film. Even for a no budgeteer. The story was not very strong, and by act 3...it seemed as if the filmmakers were just out of ideas. And were keeping the film dragging on.
Overall:One star and a half out of four.